ilifornia 
ional 

Llity 


ONIV.  OF  CALIF.  Liu;?Ar:Y.  L06  ANGELAS 


LIBRARY  OF 

ARCHITECTURE  AND 

ALLIED  ARTS 


Gift  of 

The   Heirs 
of 
H.    Gerinain  Hubby,    A. I. A; 


CITY  PLANNING 


The 
National  Municipal  League  Series 

EDITED  BY 

CLINTON  ROGERS  WOODRUFF 

Secretary  of  the  National  Municipal  League 

City  Goverament  by  Commission 

Edited  by  CLINTON   ROGERS  WOODRUFF 

The  Regulation  of  Municipal  Utilities 

Edited  by  CLYDE  LYNDON  King 

The  Initiative,  Referendum  and  Recall 

Edited  by  WILLIAM   BENNETT  MUNRO 

The  Social  Center 

By  Edward  J.  Ward 

Woman's  Work  in  Municipalities 

by  Marry  Ritter  Beard 

Lower  Living  Costs  in  Cities 

By  Clyde  Lyndon  King 

The  City  Manager 

By  Harry  Aubrey  Toulmin,  Jr. 

Satellite  Cities 

By  Graham  R.  Taylor 

City  Planning 

Edited  by  JOHN   NOLEN 

D.    APPLETON    AND    COMPANY 

Publisher8  New  York 


Digitized  by  tine  Internet  Arciiive 

in  2007  witii  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


littp://www.arcli  ive.org/details/cityplanningseriOOnoleiala 


NATIONAL   MUNICIPAL   LEAGUE   SERIES 


CITY  PLANNING 

A  SERIES  OF  PAPERS  PRESENTING  THE 
ESSENTIAL  ELEMENTS  OF  A  CITY  PLAN 


EDITED  BY 

JOHN   NOLEN 

FELLOW  AMERICAN   SOCIETY  OF   LANDSCAPE   ARCHITECTS 


ILLUSTRATED 


NEW   YORK  AND    LONDON 

D.   APPLETON  AND   COAIPANY 

1916 


Copyright,  1916, 
By  D.  APPLETON  AND  COMPANY 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


PREFACE 

The  other  volumes  so  far  issued  in  the  National  Municipal 
League  Series  have  had  to  do  mainly  with  the  problems  of 
organization  and  administration  in  cities.  While  this  vol- 
ume gives  some  attention  to  the  study  of  conditions  and 
tendencies  as  a  basis  for  city  planning  and  to  the  methods 
of  executing  plans  through  suitable  legal  and  administrative 
machinery,  it  is  concerned  primarily  with  the  planning  of 
physical  results. 

This  Handbook  of  City  Planning  is  not  an  attempt  to  pro- 
vide a  comprehensive  treatise.  Nevertheless,  it  is  not  merely 
a  loose  collection  of  essays  on  city  planning  subjects,  but  a 
carefully  related  series  which,  taken  together,  cover  the 
essential  elements  of  a  city  plan.  It  deals  with  problems 
that  confront  practically  all  cities  of  any  considerable  size, 
and  it  presents  the  lines  of  investigation,  planning,  and  con- 
trol which  have  been  found  most  sound  in  theory  and  most 
successful  in  practice  in  the  cities  and  towns  of  the  I'^nited 
States. 

The  handbook  has  been  prepared  first  of  all  for  the  more 
serious  and  responsible  part  of  the  general  jniblic  that  seeks 
in  compact  and  readable  form  reliable  information  and  guid- 
ance as  to  the  nature.  ])uri)oses  and  methods  of  city  plan- 
ning. It  is  believed  that  the  volume  will  l^e  useful  also  to 
students  of  city  planning  and  to  practitioners  in  this  and 
related  fields  as  a  convenient  summary  of  American  experi- 
ence and  an  embodiment  of  good  methods  and  practice. 

At  the  end  of  each  chapter  there  is  a  carefully  selected 
list  of  books  and  articles  on  the  chapter  subject,  and  at  the 
end  of  the  volume  a  brief  Ijibliography  of  the  most  authori- 

V 


vi  PREFACE 

tative  works  and  papers  (Icalinj:^  with  the  siihject  of  city 
planning  as  a  whole,  or  with  aspects  broader  than  that  of 
the  single  chapter.  The  text  is  well  illustrated  with  appro- 
priate diagrams,  plans,  and  photographs. 

The  sixteen  authors  who  have  co6i)erated  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  the  volume  are  all  men  of  recognized  qualifications 
in  city  planning  and  virtually  all  of  them  have  technical 
knowledge,  experience,  and  reputation  in  the  particular  part 
of  the  city  ])lanning  field  with  which  their  chapters  deal. 
Brief  biographical  sketches  follow  the  preface. 

The  editor's  thanks  are  due  to  the  authors  of  the  several 
chapters  for  their  valuable  contributions;  to  Mr.  Lawrence 
Veiller,  to  Mr.  Andrew  Wright  Crawford,  and  to  Mr.  M.  N. 
Baker  for  advice  in  working  out  the  form  and  contents  of 
this  volume;  to  ]\liss  Anna  E.  Monahan  for  painstaking  and 
skillful  editorial  service,  especially  in  the  preparation  of  the 
bibliography;  to  Mr.  Woodruff,  the  editor  of  the  series,  for 
his  willing  aid  in  helping  to  decide  the  many  questions  con- 
nected with  the  publication  of  a  book  of  this  character,  and 
to  Mr.  Frederick  Law  Olmsted,  who  in  addition  to  writing 
the  introduction  to  the  volume,  has  read  and  criticised  all  of 
the  manuscript  and  given  many  valuable  suggestions  from 
his  full  knowledge  of  the  subject  and  wide  practical  experi- 
ence as  a  landscape  architect. 

John  Nolen. 

Cambridge,  Massachusetts. 
August,  191 5. 


CONTRIBUTORS 

FREDERICK   LAW    OLMSTED 

Frederick  Law  Olmsted,  born  Staten  Island,  N.  Y.,  July  24, 
1870;  graduated  Harvard,  1894.  Studied  landscape  architec- 
ture under  his  father.  Began  practice  as  landscape  architect, 
1895.  Landscape  architect  for  Metropolitan  Park  Commission 
of  Boston  since  1898;  Baltimore  Park  Commission  since  1902; 
Roland  Park  Company,  Baltimore,  since  1898;  Sage  Foundation 
Homes  Company,  Forest  Hills,  Long  Island,  N.  Y.,  since  1908; 
and  for  various  other  land  companies.  Member  of  Commission 
on  Improvement  of  Washington,  1902;  instructor  in  landscape 
architecture,  1901-3;  professor  since  1903,  Harvard  University. 
Member  of  National  Commission  of  Fine  Arts  since  1910; 
member  of  the  Board  of  Supervising  Architects  of  the  Group 
Plan,  Cleveland,  Ohio,  since  1912,  Brookline;  Chairman  of  the 
Executive  Committee,  National  Conference  on  City  Planning, 
since  1-910.  As  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Olmsted  Brothers,  has 
acted  in  a  consulting  capacity  for  and  designed  portions  of  the 
parks  or  other  public  improvements  of  the  following  towns 
and  cities:  Arlington,  iMass. ;  Boston,  Mass.;  Bridgeport, 
Conn. ;  Cambridge,  Mass. ;  Charleston,  S.  C. ;  Chicago,  111. ; 
Denver,  Colo.;  Detroit,  Mich.;  Hartford,  Conn.;  Lynn,  Mass.; 
Maiden,  Mass. ;  New  Haven,  Conn. ;  Xewport.  R.  I. :  New  York, 
N.  Y. ;  Providence,  R.  I.;  Rochester,  X.  Y. ;  Springfield,  Mass.; 
Trenton,  N.  J.;  Utica,  N.  Y. ;  Washington,  D.  C. ;  and  numerous 
institutions,  land  sulxlivisions.  and  private  properties.  Author 
of  numerous  reports  and  articles  on  jjarks,  municipal  imi)rove- 
ments,  city  planning  and  landscajie  architecture.  Author  of 
City    Plan    Reports    relating   to   the    following  cities :     Boulder, 

vii 


viii  CONTRIBUTORS 

Colo.;  Baltimore,  Md.  (both  alone  and  jointly  with  A.  W. 
Brunner  and  J.  M.  Carrere)  ;  Detroit,  Mich.;  Holyoke,  Mass.; 
New  Haven,  Conn,  (jointly  with  Cass  Gilbert)  ;  Pawtucket, 
R.  I.;  Pittsburgh,  Pa.;  Rochester,  N.  Y.  (jointly  with  A.  W. 
Brunner) ;  Utica,  N.  Y.;  Woonsocket,  R.  I.;  York,  Pa. 


JOHN    NOLEN 

John  Nolen,  born  Philadelphia,  1869;  graduated  University 
of  Pennsylvania,  1893;  post-graduate  work.  University  of  Mu- 
nich, 1900;  A.  M.  Harvard,  1905;  Sc.  D.,  Hobart,  1913;  en- 
gaged in  professional  practice  at  Cambridge,  Mass.,  since  1903. 
Among  his  more  important  works  are  general  plans  for  Agri- 
cultural School,  Northampton,  Mass. ;  Bates  College,  Lewiston, 
Maine;  Davidson  College,  Davidson,  N.  C. ;  plans  for  institu- 
tions under  State  Board  of  Control  of  Wisconsin;  private  place 
of  A.  Howard  Hinkle,  Bar  Harbor,  Maine;  Myers  Park  land 
subdivision,  Charlotte,  N.  C. ;  Neponset  Garden  Village,  Wal- 
pole,  Mass. ;  general  plan  for  Del  Paso  Park,  Sacramento, 
California;  park  systems  for  Madison,  Wisconsin;  Chattanooga, 
Tennessee;  La  Crosse,  Wisconsin;  New  London,  Conn.;  Little 
Rock,  Arkansas;  comprehensive  city  plans  and  reports  for  im- 
provement of  Roanoke,  Virginia;  San  Diego,  California;  Mont- 
clair  and  Glen  Ridge,  New  Jersey ;  Reading,  Scranton,  Lock 
Haven,  and  Erie,  Pennsylvania;  Madison  and  Milwaukee,  Wis- 
consin; Wayland,  Cohasset,  and  Walpole,  Massachusetts; 
Schenectady,  N.  Y. ;  Bridgeport,  Conn.;  Sacramento,  California. 
Adjudicator  competitive  designs  for  city  plan  of  Dublin,  Ire- 
land. Fellow,  American  Society  of  Landscape  Architects ;  Bos- 
ton Society  of  Landscape  Architects;  Executive  Board,  National 
Conference  on  City  Planning;  First  Vice-President,  American 
Civic  Association.  Editor:  Repton's  Art  of  Landscape  Gar- 
dening, 1907:  Handbook  of  City  Planning.  1916.  Author: 
Madison,  a  Model  City,  1910;  Replanning  Small  Cities,  1912; 
Greater  Erie,  1913.  Contributor  to  magazines  and  current  peri- 
odicals. 


CONTRIBUTORS  ix 

FRANK   BACKUS    WILLIAMS 

Frank  Backus  Williams;  born  December  17,  1864.  Grad- 
uated Harvard  College  and  Harvard  Law  School.  Began, 
in  1892,  the  active  practice  of  the  law,  in  Hartford,  Con- 
necticut. Since  1910  has  devoted  himself  exclusively  to  the 
law  of  city  j^lanning,  and  other  social  movements.  Member 
of  the  Legislative  Committee  of  the  Citizens  Union,  a  director 
of  the  Municipal  Art  Society,  and  chairman  of  the  city  plan- 
ning committee  of  the  City  Club  of  New  York ;  also  a  member 
of  the  General  Committee  of  the  National  Conference  on  City 
Planning.  Drafted  the  city  planning  law  of  the  State  of  New 
York.  In  191 3  was  sent  by  the  city  of  New  York  to  Europe 
to  investigate  and  report  on  building  laws  and  ordinances  in 
force  there;  and  his  report  forms  a  part  of  the  reports  of 
Heights  of  Buildings  Commission  of  New  York.  In  1914  was 
again  selected  to  study  and  report  on  European  building  regu- 
lations, for  the  benefit  of  the  Commission  on  Building  Districts 
and  Regulations  of  New  York  City — the  commission  that  is  at 
present  engaged  in  districting  the  city — but  his  investigations 
were  cut  short  by  the  outbreak  of  the  war.  On  the  staff  of 
the  districting  commission,  and  member  of  the  city  planning 
commission  of  the  city.  Has  written  numerous  articles  on 
building  regulations  and  districting  in  this  country  and  abroad. 

EDWARD    11.    BOUTON 

Edward  II.  Bouton,  l)orn  Deccmljcr  7.  1858.  Since  1891  in 
charge  of  the  development  of  Roland  Park,  Baltimore,  Md. — a 
notable  example  of  the  best  type  of  American  land  subdivi- 
sion, including  the  treatment  of  local  and  minor  streets.  Upon 
the  incorporation  of  the  Roland  Park  Company,  became  Gen- 
eral ]\Ianager,  and  is  now  President;  Vice-President  and  Gen- 
eral Manager  of  the  Forest  Hills  Cardcns.  owned  by  the  .Sage 
Foundation  Homes  Company,  and  in  active  charge  of  the  de- 
velopment of  its  property  under  the  plans  of  l'>ederick  Law 
Olmsted  and  Grosvenor  Attcrl)ury,   1909-12. 


CONTRIBUTORS 


EDWARD   H.    BENNETT 

Edward  H.  Bennett,  born  in  England;  graduated  from  the 
£cole  des  Beaux  Arts  in  Paris,  1902;  with  D.  H.  Burnham, 
architect  and  city  planner,  for  seven  years;  associated  with  Mr. 
Burnham  in  preparation  of  plans  of  San  Francisco  and  Chicago. 
In  addition  has  prepared  plans  of  Portland,  Oregon;  Minne- 
apolis, Minnesota;  general  plan  of  the  Panama-Pacific  Inter- 
national Exposition,  1915;  Borough  of  Brooklyn,  New  York; 
Detroit,  Michigan ;  Ottawa,  the  Capital  of  the  Dominion  of 
Canada ;  and  the  development  of  Grant  Park,  Chicago,  for  the 
South  Park  Commissioners. 


ARTHUR    C.    COAIEY 

Arthur  C.  Coniey,  graduated  from  Harvard,  1907;  Super- 
intendent of  Parks,  Utica,  N.  Y.,  1909-10;  as  landscape  archi- 
tect has  made  tentative  city  plan  for  Houston,  Tex. ;  town  plan 
for  Dover,  N.  J.;  suburban  planning  report,  Detroit,  Mich.; 
garden  suburb  plan,  Billerica,  Mass. ;  city  planning  studies, 
Woonsocket,  R.  I.;  Lawrence,  Mass.;  Cambridge,  Mass.;  Fitch- 
burg,  Mass.  In  Australian  Federal  Capital  Competition,  plan 
placed  fifth;  in  Chicago  Quarter  Section  Competition,  second 
prize;  Richmond,  Cal.,  land  subdivision  competition,  first  prize. 
Member,  American  Society  of  Landscape  Architects;  Massa- 
chusetts Homestead  Commission ;  General  Committee,  National 
City  Planning  Conference.  Secretary,  Massachusetts  Federa- 
tion of  Planning  Boards.  Author  of  many  reports  and  con- 
tributor to  magazines  and  current  periodicals. 


E.    P.    GOODRICH 

E.  P.  Goodrich,  born  1874;  graduate  of  the  University  of 
Michigan  with  advanced  degree;  Civil  Engineer  in  the  United 
States  Xavv  ;  Chief  b'ngineer  of  the  Bush  Terminal  in  Brook- 


CONTRIBUTORS  xi 

lyn;  now  Consulting  Engineer  of  the  Borough  of  Manhattan 
and  the  Board  of  Estimate ;  Expert  to  the  Harbor  Commission 
of  Los  Angeles,  California;  City  Plan  Expert  for  the  City 
Plan  Commission  of  Newark,  New  Jersey.  Member  of  the 
American  Society  of  Civil  Engineers,  American  and  Interna- 
tional Societies  of  Testing  Materials,  American  Concrete  Insti- 
tute, Permanent  Organization  of  Navigation  Congresses,  Ex- 
ecutive Committee  of  the  National  City  Planning  Conference. 


ARTHUR    A.    SHURTLEFF 

Arthur  A.  Shurtleff,  Landscape  Architect;  born  Boston, 
1870;  graduated  Massachusetts  Institute  Technology,  S.B., 
1894;  Harvard  University,  S.B.,  1896;  pupil  Charles  Eliot, 
1894-1897;  Olmsted  office,  1896-1904;  Instructor  Landscape 
Architecture,  Harvard  University,  1898-1905;  opened  own 
office,  1905.  Most  important  state  and  city  work  is  the  fol- 
lowing: Advising  Massachusetts  Quinsigamond  Lake  Commis- 
sion, 1912-13;  Hartford  Water  Board,  1910-1915;  Fall  River 
Reservoir  Commission,  1910;  Massachusetts  Metropolitan  Im- 
provements Commission,  1907-1909;  Boston  Transit  Commis- 
sion, 1910  and  1913-1915;  Boston  Park  Department,  1909-1914; 
New  Hampshire  State  House  Commission,  1914;  Massachu- 
setts State  House  Commission  Architects,  1915;  also  commis- 
sions of  the  cities  and  towns  of  Medford,  Hudson,  Weston, 
Ware,  Gloucester,  Winthrop,  Woburn ;  the  following  Mas- 
sachusetts State  Hospitals  and  State  Schools:  Psychopathic, 
Boston,  Norfolk,  Wrentham,  Shirley;  the  following  colleges 
and  schools:  Johns  Hopkins  University,  1907  and  1912-13; 
Wellesley  College,  1913-1915;  Groton  School,  1906-1915;  St. 
Paul's  School,  1914-15;  the  industrial  town  layouts  of  New- 
market, N.  H. ;  Hopedale,  Mass. ;  Solvay  Process  Co.,  Syra- 
cuse, N.  Y. ;  the  Wildwood  Builders,  Fort  Wayne,  Ind. ;  Eel- 
low  American  Society  Landscape  Architects,  Associate  Boston 
Society  Architects. 


xii  CONTRIBUTORS 

CALEB   MILLS   SAVILLE 

Caleb  Mills  Saville,  born  1865;  graduated  from  Harvard  Uni- 
versity, 1889;  general  water  works  practice,  office  M.  M.  Tidd, 
Boston,  1889-1891 ;  Assistant  Engineer  in  charge  of  sewer  de- 
sign and  construction,  Maiden,  Mass.,  1891-1895;  Division  En- 
gineer, Metropolitan  Water  Works,  Boston,  Mass.,  1895-1905; 
Engineer  in  charge  of  Investigations  of  Foundations  and  Ma- 
terials and  Methods  of  Construction  for  the  Isthmian  Canal 
Dams;  also  in  charge  of  Third  Division,  Office  of  Chief  Engi- 
neer, having  supervision  of  Hydrographic  Work  and  Special 
Engineering  Investigations  Relating  to  Water  Supply,  Sani- 
tation and  General  Surveys  of  the  Canal  Zone,  1907-1912; 
Chief  Engineer,  Board  of  Water  Commissioners,  Hartford, 
Conn.,  in  charge  of  City  Maintenance  and  Construction  of  Ad- 
ditional Supply,  1912  to  date.  Member  American  Society  Civil 
Engineers,  Boston  Society  of  Civil  Engineers,  New  England 
Water  Works  Association, 


GEORGE    R.    WADSWORTH 

George  R.  Wadsworth,  born  1875 ;  graduate  Massachusetts 
Institute  of  Technology,  1898,  Civil  Engineer;  1898-1905,  with 
New  York  Central  R.  R. ;  1905-1907,  Construction  Dept.,  J.  G. 
White  &  Co.,  Inc.,  New  York  City;  1907-1909,  Consulting  En- 
gineer, Metropolitan  Improvements  Commission,  Boston;  1909- 
1910,  Consulting  Engineer  on  Boston  Terminal  Problems,  Bos- 
ton; 1910-1914,  commercial  work,  mechanical  engineering  and 
design  in  connection  with  manufacturing;  1914  to  date,  Con- 
sulting Engineer,  Terminal  Traffic,  and  allied  proi)lems  in  City 
Planning.  Member  American  Society  of  Civil  Engineers, 
American  Society  Mechanical  Engineers,  American  Railway 
ICngineering  Association.  Author  of  Report  to  Metropolitan 
Improvements  Commission,  Boston,  covering  Railroad  and 
Harbor  Terminals,  with  recommendations  for  ultimate  develop- 
ment,  within   the   Boston   Terminal   District,   published   l)y   the 


CONTRIBUTORS  xiii 

Commonwealth,  in  report — "Public  Improvements  for  Metro- 
politan District,"  1909;  "Railroads — The  Framework  of  City 
Plan,"  Second  National  Conference  on  City  Planning,  Roches- 
ter, New  York,  May,  1910. 


BENJAMIN    ANTRIM    HALDEMAN 

Benjamin  Antrim  Haldeman,  born  1866;  Assistant  Engineer 
of  the  General  Plans  Division  of  the  Bureau  of  Surveys  of 
Philadelphia ;  work  has  covered  practically  all  branches  of  mu- 
nicipal engineering  and  particularly  those  branches  which  are 
closely  identified  with  what  we  now  call  city  planning,  such  as 
the  improvement  and  extension  of  the  street  and  park  systems, 
the  abolishment  of  grade  crossings,  waterfront  development, 
etc.  Has  given  lectures  on  street  planning  and  related  prob- 
lems; written  a  number  of  articles  upon  city  planning  subjects 
for  technical  societies  and  periodicals;  delivered  a  course  of 
lectures  on  town  planning  in  the  Summer  School  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Pennsylvania. 


JOHN    VIPOND    DAVIES 

John  Vipond  Davies,  born  in  South  Wales,  October  13,  1862; 
educated  at  Wesleyan  College,  Taunton,  England,  and  at  Uni- 
versity of  London.  Early  experience  included  engineering  and 
construction  of  dry  docks,  mines,  engines,  etc.  Came  to  the 
United  States  in  1889  and  with  Charles  M.  Jacobs  formed  the 
firm  of  Jacobs  &  Davies,  consulting  engineers.  Chief  Engi- 
neer of  Montauk  Water  Co.  Designed  and  constructed  in  1892 
the  Ravenswood  Tunnel  for  East  River  Gas  Co.,  between  71st 
St.,  Manhattan,  and  Long  Island  City.  As  Chief  luigineer, 
designed  and  constructed  West  Virginia  .Short  Line  R.  R.  (now 
part  of  B.  &  O.  R.  R.),  and  also  designed  and  constructed  Kan- 
awha &  Pocahontas  R.  R.  (now  part  of  C.  &  O.  Ry.).  Consult- 
ing Engineer  of  Ohio  Ri\'er  R.  R. ;  Chief  Engineer  of  Atlantic 
Avenue  Improvement  of  Long  Island  R.  R.  in  Brooklyn,  on  the 


xiv  CONTRIBUTORS 

elimination  of  grade  crossings  through  that  city.  Consulting 
Engineer  to  City  of  Detroit  on  water  supply  tunnel  under  De- 
troit River;  Engineer-in-Charge  for  contractors  of  terminal 
improvements  of  N.  Y.  C.  R.  R.,  Grand  Central  Terminal,  New 
York,  and  Consulting  Engineer  for  N.  Y.  &  L.  I,  R.  R.  for 
tunnel  under  East  River;  Deputy  Chief  Engineer  (his  partner, 
Mr.  Jacobs,  being  Chief  Engineer),  and  later  Chief  Engineer, 
designed  and  constructed  four  tunnels  under  Hudson  River 
for  Hudson  &  Manhattan  R,  R.,  and  its  tunnel  system  under 
New  York  and  New  Jersey.  His  firm,  Jacobs  &  Davies,  have 
recently  completed  a  deep  level  tunnel  from  Astoria,  Long 
Island,  to  the  Bronx,  New  York,  for  Consolidated  Gas  Co.,  and 
have  recently  completed  a  hydroelectric  power  dam  and  navi- 
gable lock  across  Tennessee  River  for  Chattanooga  &  Tennes- 
see River  Power  Co.,  and  also  26  tunnels  of  various  lengths  in 
Mexico,  comprising  the  hydraulic  development  of  the  Mexican 
Light  &  Power  Co.  to  supply  light  and  power  to  Mexico  City 
and  the  Federal  District;  Consulting  Engineer  for  Brooklyn 
Rapid  Transit  Co.  in  connection  with  its  new  subways,  tun- 
nels, and  elevated  lines  in  the  Boroughs  of  Manhattan  and 
Brooklyn,  New  York  City,  and  directed  for  the  B.  R.  T.  Co.  the 
work  of  alteration  of  the  Centre  Street  Loop,  in  Manhattan, 
and  the  work  of  construction  of  complicated  system  of  subways, 
yards  and  tracks  at  38th  Street,  Brooklyn.  His  firm  designed 
and  supervised  construction  of  a  tunnel  under  the  Seine  River 
and  across  the  Place  de  la  Concorde  for  the  Metropolitan  Ry., 
Paris,  France,  and  also  designed  and  constructed  the  4-track 
subway  under  existing  subways,  surface  and  elevated  railroads 
where  several  of  these  converge  and  cross  one  another  at 
Flatbush  and  4th  Avenues,  Brooklyn,  being  a  part  of  the  4th 
Avenue  Subway  System  being  constructed  by  City  of  New 
York. 

GEORGE   BURDETT    FORD 

George  Burdctt  Ford,  born  Clinton.  Mass.,  1879;  graduated, 
Harvard.  A.P...  1899,  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology, 
S.B.  1900;  M.S.  1901  :  f^cole  dcs  Beaux  Arts,  1907.     Consultant 


rOXTRTBUTORS  xv 

to  the  Committee  on  the  City  Plan  and  the  Advisory  Commis- 
sion on  City  Planning  of  the  Board  of  Estimate  and  Apportion- 
ment of  New  York  City ;  Consultant  to  the  Commission  on 
Building  Districts  and  Restrictions  of  New  York  City;  Con- 
sultant to  the  City  Planning  Commissions  of  Newark  and  Jersey 
City,  N.  J.  City  Plaiming  Lecturer,  Columbia  University.  Del- 
egate U.  S.  Government  to  the  Ninth  International  Housing 
Congress,  Vienna.  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Town  Plan- 
ning of  the  American  Institute  of  Architects  and  Editor  of  the 
Town  Planning  and  Housing  Department  of  the  Journal  A.  I. 
A.  Member  of  the  firm  of  Geo.  B.  Post  &  Sons,  Architects, 
New  York  City. 

JAMES    FORD 

James  Ford,  born  1884;  A.B.,  Harvard,  1905;  A.M.,  Har- 
vard, 1906;  Ph.D.,  Harvard,  1909;  Assistant  Professor  of  So- 
cial Ethics,  Harvard  University.  Prepared  Special  Report  on 
''Drunkenness  in  Massachusetts.  Conditions  and  Remedies." 
for  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Foxboro  State  Hospital. 
House  Document  1390.  1910.  Prepared  Housing  Exhibit  for 
the  Harvard  Social  Museum,  191 1.  Author:  "The  Housing 
Prol)lem :  a  Summary  of  Conditions  and  Remedies."  Publi- 
cation No.  5  of  Department  of  Social  Ethics,  Harvard  Uni- 
versity. "Fundamentals  of  Housing  Reform,"  published  by 
Smithsonian  Institution  in  Annual  Report  of  1913.  Hous- 
ing Report  to  the  City  Planning  Commission  of  Newark.  N.  J. 
"Co-operation  in  New  England,  Urban  and  Rural."  Published 
by  Survey  Associates,  Inc.  Expert  to  the  Commission  to  In- 
vestigate Drunkenness  in  Massachusetts.  Report  published  as 
House  Document  2053. 

FLAVEL   SHURTLEFF 

Flavel  Shurtlefif,  born  1879;  graduated  Harvard  College, 
1901  ;  LE.B.,  Harvard,  1906;  now  engaged  in  the  practice  of 
law.     Secretary  of  the  National   Conference  on  Citv   Plaiming 


xvi  CONTRIBUTORS 

since  its  organization  in  1909.  Editor:  ''The  City  Plan."  Au- 
thor: "Carrying  Out  the  City  Plan:  The  Practical  Application 
of  American  Law  in  the  Execution  of  City  Plans."  Published 
by  The  Survey  Associates,  Inc.,  New  York.     1914. 


CHARLES    MULFORD    ROBINSON 

Charles  Mulford  Robinson,  of  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  was  born  in 
1869.  He  graduated  from  the  University  of  Rochester,  from 
which  he  has  since  received  the  honorary  degree  of  Master  of 
Arts.  He  has  written  extensively  for  the  leading  periodicals — 
on  one  occasion  was  sent  abroad  by  Harper's  to  prepare  a  series 
of  articles  on  municipal  esthetics — and  is  the  author  of  several 
books.  The  first  of  these,  "The  Improvement  of  Towns  and 
Cities,"  has  now  been  reprinted  ten  times.  "Modern  Civic 
Art"  is  in  its  third  edition.  The  first  edition  of  "The  Width 
and  Arrangement  of  Streets,"  published  much  later,  is  ex- 
hausted and  has  been  followed  by  a  revised  and  amplified  edi- 
tion under  the  title,  "City  Planning,  With  Special  Reference  to 
the  Planning  of  Streets  and  Lots."  In  that  volume  the  subject 
matter  of  this  chapter  is  more  fully  discussed  and  is  supple- 
mented by  references  to  foreign  legislation. 

In  addition  to  writing  books,  Mr.  Robinson  has  had  much 
practical  experience  in  the  diagnosis  of  city  conditions  and 
needs,  some  thirty  cities  and  towns  from  the  Atlantic  coast  to 
the  mid-Pacific  having  retained  him  for  that  purpose.  Most  of 
these  reports  have  been  issued  in  book  or  pamphlet  form.  Since 
1913,  Mr.  Robinson  has  held  the  appointment  of  Professor  of 
Civic  Design,  on  part  time,  at  the  University  of  Illinois,  the 
first  chair  on  that  subject  in  the  United  States  having  been  cre- 
ated for  him. 

J.    HORACE    McEARLAND 

J.  Horace  McEarland,  Master  Printer  and  Illustrator;  estab- 
lished Mt.  Pleasant  Press,  Harrisburg,  Pa.;  member  for  many 
years   of    Harrisburg   Park    Board,    until    it    was    abolished   by 


CONTRIBUTORS  xvii 

"commission"  government.  Author  of  "Photographing  Flow- 
ers and  Trees,"  "Getting  Acquainted  with  the  Trees,"  "My 
Growing  Garden,"  "Planting  the  Home  Grounds,"  and  numer- 
ous magazine  articles  on  outdoor  life  and  recreation;  also  lec- 
turer on  outdoor  life  and  on  civic  improvement  work.  Pres- 
ident of  American  Civic  Association;  Vice-President  National 
Municipal  League ;  Vice-President  Pennsylvania  Conservation 
Association;  President  Eagles  Mere  Forest  Reserve  Associa- 
tion; Secretary,  Municipal  League  of  Harrisburg.  Has  con- 
ducted campaign  for  preservation  of  Niagara  Falls  and  for 
protecting  and  developing  National  Parks,  and  has  assisted  in 
management  of  four  campaigns  for  extensive  local  municipal 
improvements. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.     Introduction.     By  Frederick  Law  Olmsted        .         i 
II.     The  Subdivision  of  Land.     By  John  Nolen       .       19 

III.  Public  Control  of  Private  Real  Estate.     By 

Frank  Backus  Williams     .....       48 

IV.  Local  and  Minor  Streets.     By  Edward  Henry 

Bouton 88 

V.     Public    Buildings    and    Quasi-Public    Build- 
ings.    By  Edward  H.  Bennett       .         .         .     103 

VI.     Neighborhood    Centers.      By   Arthur   Coleman 

Comey 117 

VII.     General  Recreation  Facilities.    By  J.  Horace 

McFarland 139 

VIII.     Park  Systems.    By  John  Nolen  .         .         .         -159 

IX.     Water  Supply  and  the  City  Plan.     By  Caleb 

Mills  Saville 181 

X,     Non-Navigable  Waters.     By  Arthur  A.  Shurt- 

lefif 201 

XL     Navigable  Waters.     By  E.  P.  Goodrich     .         .     227 

XII.     Railroads      and     Industrial     Districts.      By 

George  R.  Wadsworth 264 

XIII.  Transportation     and     Main     Thoroughfares 

and    Strkft    Railways.      By    Benjamin    An- 
trim Haldcman  .......     279 

XIV.  The    Effect   of   Rapid   Transit   on    the   City 

Plan.     By  John  Vipond  Davies     .         .         -314 


XX  CONTENTS 

CIIAPTKR  PAGE 

XV.     Residential    and    Industrial    Decentraliza- 
tion.    By  James  Ford 333 

XVI.     Fundamental  Data  For  City  Planning  Work. 

By  George  Burdett  Ford        ....     353 

XVII.     City    Financing    and    City    Planning.      By 

Flavel  Shurtlefif 387 

XVIII.     City-Planning  Legislation.     By  Charles  Mul- 

ford  Robinson 404 

General  Bibliography 427 

Index 437 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


Bird's-eye  view  of  general  plan  of  Washington,  D.  C, 

Frontispiece 

PACE 

Mississippi  River  Industrial  District,  Keokuk,   Iowa         .      20 

Plans  receiving  first  prize  in  the  competition  for  the  sub- 
division of  a  quarter-section  of  land  carried  on  by  the 
Chicago   City   Club         ....       facing  page 

Study  of  a  typical  block  for  the  Committee  on  Land  Sub- 
division of  the  National  City  Planning  Conference 
from  Amity  Street  to  Bleecker  Street,  Sullivan  Street 
to  Thompson   Street,   New  York   City 

Study  of  a  typical  block  for  the  Committee  on  Land  Sub- 
division of  the  National  City  Planning  Conference 
from  Amity  Street  to  Bleecker  Street,  Sullivan  Street 
to   Thompson    Street,   New   York   City 

Typical  lot  and  block  plans  and  the  building  development 

of   Bridgeport,   Conn 30 

Four  typical  blocks  if  developed  in  accordance  with  the 
restrictions  recommended  for  various  building  zones 
in  Bridgeport,  Conn 

Fisher   Hill,    Brookline,    Mass.     .... 

An  illustration  from  Bridgeport,  Conn.,  of  lack  of  pul)lic 
regulation  and  control 

Proposed  building  zones.  City  of  Bridgeport     . 

Present  building  distribution,  City  of  Bridgeport 

Zone  or  district  map  of  Greater  Berlin 

A  typical  fifty-foot  street,  showing  arrangement  of 
way,   sidewalks  and  planting  spaces     . 

A  street  sharply  curved  to  meet  local  topographical 

tions         ..........       g2 


20 


26 


27 


31 
41 

43 

78 
79 
82 

91 


xxii  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PACE 

A  Street  laid  out  along  the  crest  of  a  ridge         •        •         •  93 

Charcotte  Place 94 

Bedford   Place 95 

Norwood  Place 98 

Merryman  Court 99 

Place  de  la  Concorde,  Paris        .        .         .       facing  page  104 

Grand  Place  and  Hotel  de  Ville,  Antwerp       facing  page  106 

Piazza  del  Plebiscito,  Naples         .         .         .       facing  page  108 

Waterloo  Place,  London        ....       facing  page  112 

Plan  of  proposed  civic  center,  embodying  law  courts,  au- 
ditorium, public  library,  etc.,  Minneapolis,  facing  page  114 
Conventional    plats    of   blocks    showing   controlling   prin- 
ciples       .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .123 

Plan  of  Froebel  School  and  part  of  school  grounds,  Gary, 

Indiana 137 

Davis    Square,    Chicago 146 

Area  served  by  proposed  park  system,  Houston,  Texas  .  148 
Wildwood  Park,  Harrisburg,  Pennsylvania  .  .  -151 
A  comparison  of  park  achievement  .....  160 
A  comparison  of  park  endeavors  .....  161 
Diagram  of  the  public  open  spaces  of  the  metropolitan  dis- 
tricts Greater  Kansas  City,  showing  park  and  boule- 
vard   system 173 

Reservoir  and  masonry  water  tower,  Forbes  Hill,  Quincy, 

Mass facing  page  188 

The  Craig  Goch  Dam,  Elan  River,  Wales     .       facing  page  188 

Dark   Hollow   Pond facing  page  192 

Screen  chamber,  Weston  Reservoir     .         .       facing  page  192 

Map   of   Boston   proper         .......  212 

Charles  River  Basin,  Boston.    Typical  section,  south  bank, 

before   and   after   improvement     .....  213 

Charles  River  Basin,  Boston,  l)efore  improvement,  show- 
ing water  at  level  of  low  tide         .         .       facing  page  214 
Charles   River   Basin   after   improvement,   showing  water 

at  permanent  high  level         .         .         .       facing  page  214 
Section,   Victoria   Embankment,   Thames     .         .         .         .217 

Boston    metropolitan    district.      Brook,    river,    pond    and 

ocean   shores  .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .218 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS  xxiii 

PAGE 

Boston  metropolitan  district,  shores  in  public  control,  1912  219 
Geneva,    Switzerland,    showing    boathouses,    breakwater, 

piers  and  promenades  ....  facing  page  220 
Beaver  Brook,  Worcester,  Mass.,  showing  improved  chan- 
nel    facing  page  220 

Dewey  Beach  and  playground     ......  222 

Revised  plan  for  the  development  of  Governor's  Island, 

Boston   Harbor 224 

Typical  cross-section  of  bulkhead,  Newark,  New  Jersey     .  229 

Outer  harbor  wharf,  City  of  Los  Angeles  .  .  .  233 
Plan  of  proposed  canal  and  dock  system  for  the  city  of 

Newark,  N.  J 236 

Suggested   arrangement   of  harbor   boulevard   and   R.    R. 

tracks  in  front  of  San  Pedro,  Cal 241 

Plan  and  elevations  of  typical  proposed  dock  structures, 

Portland,  Oregon 259 

Bush  Terminal  plant.  View  from  balloon  facing  page  266 
Bush  Terminal  railroad  yard.     Accommodation  for  2,000 

standard   cars facing  page  266 

Bush  Terminal       .........  268 

Layout  of  the  buildings,   freight  yards  and  docks  of  the 

Bush  Terminal         ........  270 

Plan  view  of  the  mammoth   U-shaped   factory  buildings, 

Bush  Terminal         ........  272 

Buildings  Nos.  5  and  6,  Bush  Terminal  Buildings  Co.,  first 

floor  plan         .........  274 

Former    street    layout.    South    Philadelphia         .         .         .  298 

Revised   street   layout.    South    Philadelphia         .         .         .  299 

Flastic  sections       .........  301 

Cross-section,     Miinchcnstrasse,     Dresden,     Cross-section, 

Bismarckstrasse,   Berlin,   Cross-section,   Biilowstrassc, 

Berlin       ..........  302 

Elastic  section.     Standard  secondary  traffic  thoroughfare  303 

Elastic  section.     Standard  main  thoroughfare,  Philadelphia  306 

Method  of  establishing  street  grades,  Philadelphia  .  .  309 
Cross-section   on    Sixth    Avenue    at   33rd   Street         .         .321 

Hudson   Terminal.   New   York   City     .         .        facing  page  326 

Sea  Beach  Line,  I'rooklyn  Ra])id  Transit  Co.     facing  page  326 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


Elevated  Railroad,  concrete  masonry  viaduct     facing  page  328 

l'21evatcd    Railroad,    steel    structure     .         .       facing  page  328 

Part  of  Letchworth  Garden  City,  England         .         .         .  342 

Goodyear  Heights  allotment,  Akron,  Ohio        .         .         .  346 

Ncponset  Garden  \i!lagc,  l^ast  W'alpolc.  Mass.  faciui^  pai^c  346 

General   map  of  the   Pittsburgh   district     .       facing  page  354 

Area  served   by   Prince   Street   playground         .         .         .  363 

Map  of  the  Borough  of  Brooklyn 366 

Volume,  composition  and  direction  of  trafific  at  important 

street  intersections  .......  369 

Distribution  of  the  flow  of  daily  traffic  from  the  four  cor- 
ners,   Newark 373 

Map  showing  docks  and  terminals  in  New  York  City  and 

vicinity    ..........  376 

Map  of  the    Borough   of   Brooklyn 382 

Preliminary  city  planning  studies,  City  of  Sacramento     .  383 


INTRODUCTION    BY   THE   GENERAL  EDITOR 

"City  planning"  is  a  phrase  much  more  often  used  than 
defined.  There  was  a  time,  and  that  less  than  a  score  of 
years  ago,  when  it  was  practically  a  synonym  for  the  "city 
beautiful" ;  but  now  it  has  a  much  richer,  a  much  more  com- 
prehensive meaning.  This  development  has  been  synchro- 
nous with  the  growth  of  the  movement  to  place  our  cities 
upon  a  more  substantial,  a  more  reasonable,  a  more  useful 
basis.  Henry  R.  Aldridge,  the  secretary  of  the  English 
National  Housing  and  Town  Planning  Council,  and  a  vet- 
eran in  the  cause  of  town  planning,  declares  in  his  new 
book  ("The  Case  for  Town  Planning")  that  the  phrase 
should  come  "to  all  clear-headed  administrators  as  an  ap- 
peal for  the  substitution  of  order  in  place  of  chaos  in  town 
growth.  To  those  members  of  municipal  committees  who 
are  responsible  for  the  guardianship  of  the  health  of  the 
population,  the  appeal  should  be  that  of  the  wisdom  of  pre- 
vention as  compared  with  the  wastefulness  of  cure.  ,  .  . 
To  those  responsible  for  the  wise  administration  of  munici- 
pal revenues  the  appeal  is  direct  and  strong.  They  have 
witnessed  for  many  years  the  waste  of  the  ratepayers' 
money  on  clearance  schemes,  on  road-widening  schemes, 
and  on  many  other  schemes  which  would  never  have  been 
necessary  at  all  if  town  planning  care  and  foresight  had  been 
exercised.  To  them  the  case  for  town  jjlaniiing  on  the 
financial  side  is  overwhelming.  They  realize  that  the  sick- 
man  is  a  burden  to  the  community,  whilst  the  healthy  man 
is  an  asset.     The  one  has  to  be  carried ;  the  other  carries 


xxvi  INTRODUCTION 

liis  own  burdens  and  helps  to  carry  the  burdens  of 
others." 

Some  idea  of  the  growth  of  the  demand  for  definite,  in- 
telHgent,  expert,  official  planning  of  our  cities  may  be  gath- 
ered from  the  fact  that  in  1907  there  was  a  single  permanent 
city  planning  commission  in  the  United  States — that  of 
Hartford,  Connecticut;  and  none  so  far  as  I  know  in  Can- 
ada. Today  according  to  the  National  Municipal  Revic7v, 
wdiich  bases  its  figures  on  the  records  of  the  National  Con- 
ference for  City  I^lanning,  there  are  97,  distributed  as  fol- 
lows:  Massachusetts,  45;  Rhode  Island,  i;  Connecticut,  6; 
New  York,  6;  New  Jersey,  4;  Pennsylvania,  18;  Maryland, 
2;  Ohio,  I  ;  Illinois,  i  ;  Michigan,  i  ;  Minnesota,  i  ;  Missouri, 
I  ;  Kansas,  i  ;  Nebraska,  1  ;  Kentucky,  2 ;  Louisiana,  i  ;  Cali- 
fornia, 5.  Canada  now  has  an  official  adviser,  Thomas 
Adams,  connected  with  the  Canadian  Conservation  Commis- 
sion. 

It  is  preeminently  fitting  that  a  volume  on  American  city 
planning  should  be  the  product  of  a  congeries  of  minds.  Dr. 
John  Nolen,  himself  an  inspiring  leader  along  both  popular 
and  technical  lines,  has  brought  together  in  this  volume  the 
ripe  thought  of  the  men  who  are  the  city  planning  move- 
ment in  American  cities.  Through  all  the  chapters  runs  a 
line  of  high  ideals  and  a  happy  confidence  in  the  zeal,  intelli- 
gence and  aspirations  of  the  American  people  when  thor- 
oughly aroused. 

This  volume  is  sent  forth  with  the  hope  and  belief  that 
it  will  aid  in  giving  definite  form  and  content  to  the  de- 
veloping aspirations  for  an  orderly  planning  of  our  cities 
as  communities  where  life  may  be  truly  worth  living. 

Clinton  Rogers  Woodruff 


CITY  PLANNING 


CITY   PLANNING 


CHAPTER    I 


INTRODUCTION 


City  planning  is  the  attempt  to  exert  a  well-considered 
control  on  behalf  of  the  peo])le  of  a  city  over  the  develop- 
ment of  their  physical  environment  as  a  whole.  Although 
most  of  the  elements  of  the  subject  have  been  long  under 
discussion  and  have  accumulated  an  extensive  literature, 
books  purporting  to  treat  of  city  planning  are  few  in  number 
and  all  of  recent  date.  Indeed  the  term  itself,  and  its  equiva- 
lent, "town  planning,"  have  come  into  use  only  within  a  few 
years. 

The  new  and  significant  fact  for  which  this  new  term, 
"city  planning,"  stands  is  a  growing  appreciation  of  a  city's 
organic  unity,  of  the  interdependence  of  its  diverse  elements, 
and  of  the  profound  and  inexorable  manner  in  which  the 
future  of  this  great  organic  unit  is  controlled  by  the  actions 
and  omissions  of  today. 

W^e  are  learning  how,  in  the  complex  organism  of  a  city, 
anything  we  decide  to  do  or  leave  undone  may  have  impor- 
tant and  inevitable  consequences  wholly  foreign  to  the 
motives  immediately  controlling  the  decision,  but  seriously 
affecting  the  welfare  of  the  future  city ;  and  with  our  recog- 
nition of  this  is  growing  a  sense  of  social  res|)onsi!)ility  for 
estimating  these  remoter  consequences  and  giving  them  due 
weight  in  reaching  every  decision. 

City  planning  stands  not  only  for  a  longer  look  ahead  in 


2  CITY  PLANNING 

planning  municipal  improvements  than  lias  been  customary 
in  the  past,  but  especially  for  a  broader  and  more  penetrat- 
ing vision  of  the  interrelations  between  apparently  distinct 
lines  of  planning  in  cities,  and  of  the  profound  influence 
which  activities  carried  on  in  one  part  of  the  field,  and 
with  a  view  to  one  set  of  purposes,  may  have  upon  condi- 
tions in  another  part  of  the  field.  It  takes  account  of  the 
influence  of  street  plans  and  depths  of  blocks  upon  the  pre- 
vailing type  of  building  and  thus  upon  the  amount  of  light 
and  air  and  privacy  in  the  people's  dwellings ;  of  the  ef- 
fect of  railroad  locations  on  the  distribution  of  factories 
and  on  the  congestion  of  population  and  character  of  hous- 
ing; of  the  economic  interrelation  between  water-supply 
lands  and  park  lands ;  of  the  social  and  economic  values  to 
be  secured  by  grouping  numerous  educational  and  recrea- 
tional functions  which  have  ordinarily  been  separated ;  and 
of  other  combinations  innumerable. 

City  planning  thus  conceived  has  a  breadth  and  ramifica- 
tion at  once  inspiring  and  appalling.  Any  mind  with  suffi- 
cient imagination  to  grasp  it  must  be  stimulated  by  this 
conception  of  the  city  as  one  great  social  organism,  whose 
future  welfare  is  in  large  part  determined  by  the  actions  of 
the  people  who  compose  the  organism  today,  and.  therefore, 
by  the  collective  intelligence  and  will  that  control  those  ac- 
tions. The  stake  is  vast,  the  possibilities  splendid.  The 
ideal  of  a  unified,  intelligent,  and  purposeful  control  of  the 
city's  entire  development  follows  obviously  and  logically 
from  the  conception  of  the  city  as  a  social  unit  with  its  fate 
in  its  own  hands.  The  complex  unity  of  the  subject  and 
the  absence  of  definite  limitations  upon  its  scope  add  to  the 
strength  of  its  a]ii)cal  to  tlic  imagination.  Xothing  which 
may  conceivably  l)econie  a  ])art  of  the  city  or  affect  the  city's 
future  can  logically  be  excluded  from  its  field.  It  will  cni- 
l)race  the  most  (H\crse  1)ranches  of  specialized  science  and 
technique  applietl  to  urban  affairs,  including  countless  phases 


INTRODUCTION  3 

of  engineering,  sanitation,  economics,  and  finance,  and  every 
art  which  can  minister  to  the  happiness  and  welfare  of  an 
urban  population. 

But  the  very  qualities  which  give  strength  to  city  planning 
in  its  appeal  to  our  hopeful  idealism  stand  as  obstacles  in 
the  path  of  its  practical  application.  Every  man  of  affairs 
who  has  learned  how  to  get  things  done  in  the  world,  no 
matter  how  profound  his  respect  for  science  and  research, 
no  matter  how  clear  his  conviction  that  it  pays  to  investigate 
the  pertinent  facts  before  reaching  any  decision,  is  keenly 
aware  that  if  he  waited  to  examine  all  the  factors  which 
might  possibly  bear  on  the  wisdom  of  any  decision,  or  to 
consider  all  of  its  consequences,  he  would  never  get  around 
to  making  the  decision  at  all.  He  relies  upon  his  common 
sense  to  fix  an  arbitrary  limit  upon  the  factors  which  he  wall 
take  the  time  to  weigh  before  forming  his  judgment  and 
proceeding  to  action  in  any  particular  case.  And  from  this 
point  of  view  the  new  social  ideal  of  unified  and  compre- 
hensive city  planning,  insisting  that  it  is  a  duty  to  study  and 
provide  for  the  remoter  needs  of  the  city  and  to  consider 
the  remoter  consequences  of  every  change  proposed,  may 
easily  appear  a  counsel  of  theoretical  perfection,  leading 
into  a  fathomless  ocean  of  investigations,  and  encumbering 
the  route  toward  effective  practical  accomplishments.  The 
answer  is,  of  course,  that  any  ideal  must  be  applied  with 
common  sense  and  with  due  regard  for  the  human  limita- 
tions of  time  and  place. 

The  common-sense  application  of  the  city  planning  ideal 
may  be  phrased  thus :  Whether  they  like  it  or  not,  whether 
they  know  it  or  not,  a  collective  responsibility  rests  upon 
citizens  of  the  present  generation  for  making  or  marring 
their  city's  future  in  countless  ways.  Tt  is  utterly  1)cyond 
their  ]:)Ower,  or  that  of  their  agents,  to  discharge  that  respon- 
sibility with  complete  knowledge  or  infallible  wisdom;  but 
it  is  reasonable  that  thev  should  use  a  moderate  amount  of 


4  CITY  PLANNING 

their  collective  energy  and  wealth  in  a  deliberate  and  con- 
scientious effort  to  meet  the  responsibility  as  well  as  the 
available  means  permit. 

It  is  of  very  secondary  importance  what  kind  of  agencies 
are  employed  in  the  effort.  That  is  wholly  a  matter  of  local 
and  temporary  expediency ;  as  is  also  the  question  of  how 
careful  and  thorough  and  costly  the  investigation  and  plan- 
ning ought,  in  common  sense,  to  be.  But,  from  the  very 
nature  of  cities,  there  are  certain  classes  of  problems  which 
confront  them  all,  and  certain  common  lines  of  investi- 
gation, planning,  and  control  which  are  especially  apt  to  be 
worth  while. 

In  the  following  chapters  of  this  book  some  of  the  most 
important  of  these  lines  are  discussed  from  varying  points 
of  view.  The  reader  must  draw  from  them  a  suggestion  of 
how  the  same  points  of  view  and  methods  of  thought  might 
be  applied  to  other  aspects  of  the  many-sided  problem — as- 
pects which  might  well  be  more  important  in  a  given  city 
than  those  which  are  here  discussed,  since  it  is  clearly  im- 
possible in  a  book  of  this  compass  to  deal  with  more  than  a 
limited  selection  of  the  more  important  problems  of  fre- 
quent recurrence. 

It  will,  perhaps,  help  the  reader  in  bridging  the  inevitable 
gaps  to  rehearse  here  very  briefly  a  general  classification  of 
the  physical  subject  matter  of  city  planning,  with  com- 
ments indicative  of  the  present  trend  of  thought  in  relation 
to  the  same.^ 

City  planning  may  conveniently  be  considered  under  three 
main  divisions :  The  first  concerns  tlie  means  of  circulation 
— the  distribution  and  treatment  of  the  spaces  devoted  to 
streets,  railways,  waterways,  and  all  means  of  transportation 
and  communication.  The  second  concerns  the  distribution 
and  treatment  of  the  spaces  devoted  to  all  other  public  pur- 

*  Based  on  the  author's  address  at  the  National  City  Plannin.t? 
Conference  at   Rochester,    X.   V. 


INTRODUCTION  5 

poses.  The  third  concerns  the  remaining  or  private  lands 
and  the  character  of  developments  thereon,  in  so  far  as  it  is 
practicable  for  the  community  to  control  or  influence  such 
developments. 

Facility  of  communication  is  the  very  basis  for  the  exist- 
ence of  cities ;  improved  methods  of  general  transportation 
are  at  the  root  of  the  modern  phenomenon  of  rapid  city 
growth  ;  and  the  success  of  a  city  is  more  dependent  upon 
good  means  of  circulation  than  upon  any  other  physical 
factor  under  its  control. 

Moreover,  the  area  devoted  to  streets  in  most  cities  (ex- 
cluding those  regions  that  are  still  undeveloped)  amounts  to 
between  25  and  40  per  cent  of  the  whole,  and  the  improve- 
ment and  the  use  of  all  the  remainder  of  the  city  area,  both 
in  public  and  in  private  hands,  are  so  largely  controlled  by 
the  network  of  subdividing  and  communicating  streets  that 
the  street  plan  has  always  been  regarded  as  the  foundation 
of  all  city  planning.  Rut  even  as  to  streets,  plans  drawn  pri- 
marily in  the  interest  of  easy  communication,  with  a  view  to 
the  common  welfare  of  all  the  citizens,  and  by  agents  re- 
sponsible to  them,  have  been  unusual. 

It  is  an  interesting  consideration  that  most  of  the  street 
])lanning  in  America,  and  until  recently  in  Europe,  has  been 
done  from  the  proprietary  point  of  view.  Nearly  all  new 
city  and  town  sites  that  have  been  deliberately  planned, 
whether  well  or  ill,  have  been  planned  by  or  for  the  pro- 
prietors of  the  site,  largely  with  a  view  to  successful  imme- 
diate sales.  Moreover,  the  methods,  traditions,  and  habits 
created  in  this  school  have  inevitably  dominated  in  large 
measure  those  official  street  planning  agencies  whicli  tiie 
])cople  of  some  cities  have  subsequently  estal)lishe(l  with 
the  purpose  of  exercising  a  control  in  tlic  interest  of  the 
whole  community  over  the  street  layouts  of  individual  pro- 
])rietors. 

Such  public  agencies,  cf|uippc(l  with  adequate  {lowers.  and 


6  CITY  PLAN  XING 

so  organized  as  to  have  any  strong  initiative  and  to  accom- 
plish important  results  on  the  general  plan  of  the  city,  have 
been  comparatively  few  in  this  country ;  but  many  people 
whose  interest  in  this  fundamental  aspect  of  city  planning 
has  only  recently  been  aroused  seem  to  be  quite  unaware 
what  a  great  amount  of  long-continued,  patient,  laborious 
effort  has  been  spent  and  is  being  spent  daily  on  such  work 
by  intelligent  and  well-intentioned  city  officials.  Their  hands 
are  often  tied  by  lack  of  adequate  power  and  by  lack  of 
any  supporting  public  opinion  ;  they  often  fail  to  show  that 
breadth  of  outlook  and  strength  of  initiative  that  would  be 
desirable ;  too  often  their  ideals  of  street  planning  are 
formed  in  a  narrow  school  and  a  bad  one ;  and  sometimes 
they  are  unrighteously  influenced  by  speculative  and  pro- 
prietary interests  against  the  general  welfare ;  but,  taken  by 
and  large,  they  are  doing  the  best  they  can  to  control  the 
street  development  of  their  cities  wisely.  There  is  need 
of  more  power  for  them,  more  public  understanding  of 
their  work,  and  the  development  of  a  better  and  broader 
knowledge  and  appreciation  on  their  part  of  the  technique 
of  city  planning. 

It  is  to  be  noted  that  the  ruts  in  which  the  planners 
of  streets  have  generally  been  running  in  America  were 
deeply  worn  before  the  beginning  of  the  modern  revolution 
in  means  of  transportation,  which  dates  from  the  introduc- 
tion of  metal  rails  and  the  development  of  the  steam  engine. 
That  revolution  has  been  made  by  such  moderate  successive 
steps,  and  the  men  to  whom  the  improved  transportation 
is  due  have  so  seldom  had  any  responsibility  for  street 
planning,  and  have  so  generally  had  their  attention  absorbed 
in  the  immediate  practical  problems  of  getting  improved 
means  of  transportation  as  easily  and  cheaply  as  they  could, 
under  the  actual  conditions  which  they  found  confronting 
them,  that  street  planning  has  gone  along  in  the  same  old 
routine  way,  and  each  improvement  in  the  means  of  urban 


INTRODUCTION  7 

transportation  has  been  fitted  to  the  old  Procrustean  bed  of 
the  street  planner. 

Steam  railroads,  developing  mostly  in  the  open  country, 
early  began  to  learn  the  extent  to  which  their  efficiency  de- 
pended upon  a  standard  as  to  ease  of  curvature  and  lightness 
of  gradient  that  put  their  planning  in  a  wholly  different 
category  from  that  of  the  old  type  of  thoroughfare;  and 
somewhat  more  slowly  they  began  to  learn  the  importance 
of  a  complete  separation  from  other  kinds  of  traffic,  even  at 
crossings.  Although  in  the  earlier  days  the  existing  streets 
were  often  used  by  the  railroad  in  entering  or  passing 
through  a  town,  the  tendency  became  gradually  stronger  to 
disregard  the  hampering  streets,  and  lay  out  steam  railroads, 
even  in  cities,  upon  functional  lines  suitable  to  great  long- 
distance thoroughfares  operated  at  high  speed.  This  divorce 
meant  a  great  improvement  to  the  railroads,  but  it  left  the 
street  system  to  stagnate  in  the  old  ruts,  and  tended  to  a 
total  disregard  of  the  relation  between  the  streets  and  the 
railroads  as  distinct  but  complementary  parts  of  one  system 
of  circulation.  Yet,  even  so,  one  of  the  most  important  in- 
fluences in  securing  departures  from  the  gridiron  plan,  in  the 
direction  of  more  varied  and  convenient  lines  of  communica- 
tion, has  been  the  reluctant  recognition  in  street  layout  of 
the  obstacles  to  a  wholly  arbitrary  plan  offered  by  the  pres- 
ence of  radial  and  other  functional  lines  of  railroads  estab- 
lished before  the  extension  of  the  city.  Accompanying  this 
influence,  of  course,  has  been  that  of  the  old  country  high- 
ways, which  were  often  laid  out  solely  with  an  eye  to  their 
convenience  as  direct  transportation  routes,  especially  on 
radial  lines,  unhampered  by  what  I  have  called  the  pro- 
prietary point  of  view  as  represented  l)y  the  "subdivider" 
of  land.  Only  in  those  regions  where  the  pro])rietary  point 
of  view  distorted  everything,  through  rigid  adherence  to  the 
rectangular  system  of  government  surveys  and  land  sales, 
are  these  radial  thoroughfares  entirely  lacking. 


8  CITY  PLANNING 

But  if  the  long-distance  and  suburban  steam  railroads  thus 
divorced  themselves  from  the  antiquated  methods  of  the 
street  planners,  all  other  improved  means  of  transit  have 
been,  as  a  rule,  bound  hand  and  foot  by  them.  Horse  cars, 
mechanically  propelled  street  cars  of  all  sorts,  and  rapid 
transit  railways,  whether  above  or  below  the  street  grade, 
have  generally  been  limited  to  streets  laid  out  on  plans  that 
embodied  scarcely  any  features  that  had  not  been  common  in 
city  street  plans  for  many  centuries.  The  one  important 
exception  was  that  the  average  width  of  street  became 
greater.  The  routes  which  street-car  and  transit  lines  have 
had  to  follow  have  often  been  full  of  angular  turns,  have 
seldom  been  well  distributed  in  relation  to  the  area  and 
the  population,  and,  in  the  case  of  surface  lines,  have  been 
encumbered  by  a  large  amount  of  general  vehicular  traffic, 
for  which  adequate  provision,  separate  from  the  car  tracks, 
has  been  lacking. 

It  has  thus  been  the  tendency  of  street  planners,  whether 
acting  for  the  city  or  for  landowners,  to  give  quite  inade- 
quate attention  to  the  need  of  the  public  for  various  types 
of  main  thoroughfares  laid  out  with  sole  regard  to  the  prob- 
lems of  transportation,^  and  to  permit  the  supposed  interests 
of  landowners  and  the  fear  of  heavy  damages  to  limit  the 
width  of  thoroughfares  and  force  them  out  of  the  best 
lines  in  order  to  conform  to  the  owners'  preferences  as  to 
land  subdivision.  But,  at  the  same  time,  there  has  been  a 
decided  tendency  on  the  part  of  official  street  planners  to 
insist,  with  a  quite  needless  and  undesirable  rigidity,  upon 
certain  fixed  standards  of  width  and  arrangement  in  re- 
gard to  purely  local  streets,  leading  in  many  cases  to  the 
formation  of  blocks  and  of  lots  of  a  size  and  shape  ill 
adapted  to  the  local  uses  to  which  they  need  to  be  put.  The 
typical  instance  of  tlie  latter  tendency  is  that  of  insisting 
on  wide  blocks  and  deep  lots  in  a  district  occupied  by  people 
'Sec  Chap.  XIII. 


INTRODUCTION  9 

whose  rents  must  be  low  and  accommodations  correspond- 
ingly limited ;  narrow,  deep,  dark  buildings  or  rear  tene- 
ments, or  both,  are  the  almost  inevitable  economic  results. 
Another  instance  is  that  of  fixing  a  minimum  width  of 
street  and  minimum  requirements  as  to  the  cross  section  and 
construction  thereof  which  make  the  cost  needlessly  high 
for  purely  local  streets,  and  thus  inflict  a  wholly  needless 
and  wasteful  burden  of  annual  cost  upon  the  people.^ 

Without  more  than  alluding  to  the  immensely  important 
and  complex  relations  between  the  street  system,  the  rail- 
road lines  and  terminals,  the  wharves,  the  navigable  water- 
ways, and  the  sites  for  economical  warehousing  and  manu- 
facturing,- it  is  enough  to  say,  in  summary,  that  there  is 
great  need  of  treating  all  the  means  of  circulation  in  a  city 
as  a  single  connected  system,  and  at  the  same  time  of  recog- 
nizing clearly  the  differentiation  of  its  several  parts,  so  that 
each  shall  fit  its  function  amply  but  without  waste,  from  the 
biggest  railroad  terminal  down  to  the  smallest  alley. 

In  addition  to  the  above-mentioned  means  of  circulation, 
which  provide  for  the  conveyance  of  passengers  and  freight, 
some  other  specialized  means  of  circulation  often  have  to  be 
provided.  The  pipes  and  wires  for  distributing  water,  gas, 
electricity,  etc.,  and  for  the  removal  of  sewage,  normally 
form  a  part  of  the  streets  ;  but  it  is  sometimes  expedient  to 
make  provision  for  one  or  more  of  these  services  separate 
from  the  streets.  For  example,  in  suburban  residential  dis- 
tricts without  alleys,  a  special  easement  for  pole  lines  and 
other  such  purposes  is  often  laid  out  along  the  rear  lot  lines 
in  order  to  keep  overhead  wires  out  of  the  streets.  But  the 
most  universal  and  imi)ortant  of  the  special  means  of  cir- 
culation are  the  channels  for  the  discharge  of  storm  water. 
Storm-water  sewers  built  in  the  streets  are  insufficient  to 
discharge  the  water  of  great  storms  from  large  areas.     If 

\SV<-  Chaps.  II  and  IV. 

\S'rr  Chaps,  XI,  XII.  and  XlIF, 


lo  CTTY  PLANNING 

adequate  channels  in  the  form  of  hrooks  and  rivers  and 
canals  are  not  kept  open,  exceptional  storms  are  bound  to 
cause  disastrous  floods.^ 

The  second  main  division  of  the  physical  environment 
which  city  planning  attempts  to  control  is  a  very  miscel- 
laneous one,  including  all  the  public  properties  in  a  city  not 
used  primarily  for  circulation ;  but  they  may  be  grouped 
for  the  purposes  of  this  review  into  three  principal  classes. 

Class  A  may  be  called  that  of  central  institutions,  serving 
the  whole  city  and  requiring  for  convenience  a  compara- 
tively central  position ;  such  as  the  city  hall  and  the  head 
offices  of  public  departments  and  services,  both  municipal 
and  otherwise,  the  public  library,  museums,  central  educa- 
tional establishments,  and  the  like,  together  with  the  grounds 
appurtenant  to  them.  Functionally,  it  is  important  to  class 
with  these,  as  far  as  practicable,  similar  institutions  of  a 
quasi-public  sort,  even  though  owned  and  operated  by  pri- 
vate individuals  or  corporations,  such  as  the  leading  estab- 
lishments devoted  to  public  recreation,  dramatic,  musical 
and  otherwise,  with  a  clientele  covering  the  whole  city.  One 
of  the  greatest  needs  in  regard  to  all  matters  of  this  sort 
is  the  application  of  intelligent  efifort  to  the  grouping  of  such 
institutions  at  accessible  points  in  so-called  civic  centers, 
for  the  sake  of  convenience  and  of  increased  dignity  and 
beauty." 

Class  B  consists  of  institutions  serving  limited  areas,  and, 
therefore,  needing  to  be  repeated  in  many  different  places 
throughout  the  city.  Such  are  schools,  play-grounds,  gym- 
nasia and  baths,  branch  libraries,  branch  post-offices,  police 
stations,  fire-engine  houses,  district  offices  and  yards  of  the 
department  of  public  works  and  other  public  services,  neigh- 
borhood parks  and  recreation  grounds,  voting  places,  public 
and  quasi-public  halls  and  social  centers,  and  so  on,  includ- 

'Scc  Chap.  X. 
'Src  Chap.  \'. 


INTRODUCTION  ii 

ing  in  the  same  class,  so  far  as  practicable,  the  local  institu- 
tions conducted  by  private  organizations  but  serving  a  con- 
siderable local  public.  The  most  notable  thing  about  this 
class  of  institutions  is  that,  while  most  of  them  belong  to 
the  city  and  are,  therefore,  entirely  under  the  city's  control 
as  to  location  and  character,  the  selection  of  sites  is  ordi- 
narily determined  by  separate  departments,  without  the 
slightest  regard  to  the  selections  of  other  departments,  or 
the  possibilities  of  economy,  convenience  and  esthetic  effect 
that  might  result  from  combination  or  grouping.  Even  in 
the  separate  departments,  it  appears  to  be  a  rare  exception 
that  any  considerable  degree  of  comprehensive  foresight  is 
exercised  in  selecting  sites  with  a  view  to  economy  of  pur- 
chase, or  to  securing  a  convenient  and  equitable  distribu- 
tion. 

We  shall  not  have  intelligent  city  planning  until  the  several 
departments  responsible  for  the  selection  of  sites  for  all 
the  different  public  purposes  of  a  local  character  get  to- 
gether in  laying  out  a  general  plan  and  method  of  securing 
such  sites,  forming  in  many  cases  local  civic  centers  in  which 
the  respective  neighborhoods  can  take  pride. ^ 

Class  C  of  public  properties  consists  of  many  special  in- 
stitutions not  demanding  a  central  location  but  serving 
more  than  a  local  need,  such  as  hospitals,  charitable  and 
penal  institutions,  reservoirs  and  their  grounds,  large  parks 
and  outlying  reservations,  parkways,  cemeteries,  public  mon- 
uments, and  certain  monumental  and  decorative  features  to 
be  found  in  connection  with  open  spaces  that  exist  primarily 
for  other  purposes.-  In  this  class,  the  opportunities  for 
economy  and  better  effects  through  combination  and  group- 
ing of  sites  are  not  so  numerous,  and  what  seems  to  be  most 
needed  is  a  more  far-sighted  regard  for  the  relation  of  each 
of  tliese  important  institutions  to  the  probable  future  dis- 

'Scr  Chaps.  VI  and  VII. 

\SV,'  Cliaps.  \-l.  VII.  \'11T.  and  X. 


12  CITY  PLANNING 

tribution  of  population  and  to  the  main  transjwrtation 
routes.  In  every  case,  the  adaptability  of  the  site  to  its 
particular  purpose  needs  to  be  considered  with  the  best  of 
expert  advice ;  but,  in  addition,  those  properties  which  oc- 
cupy considerable  areas,  like  the  large  parks  and  cemeteries, 
need  to  be  considered  from  a  double  point  of  view,  as  ob- 
structions to  the  free  development  of  the  street  and  transit 
systems,  and  as  places  to  and  from  which  large  numbers  of 
people  must  be  carried  by  those  systems. 

The  third  main  division  of  the  physical  city  is  that  of 
lands  in  private  ownership  and  all  the  developments  on  such 
land.  It  may  be  held  that  these  form  the  real  city,  and  that 
the  elements  heretofore  considered  are  merely  auxiliary  to 
these.  Certainly  it  would  contradict  our  definition  of  city 
planning  if  this  most  important  part  of  the  entire  physical 
environment  of  the  people  were  not  to  be  suitably  planned 
and  controlled.  And  yet  the  extent  to  which  collective  con- 
trol over  private  property  may  properly  be  carried  is  a 
debatable,  and  very  much  debated,  matter.  Such  control  is 
exerted  chiefly  in  three  ways : 

The  street  plan  absolutely  fixes  the  size  and  shape  of  the 
blocks  of  land,  and  hence  limits  and  largely  controls  the 
size  and  shape  of  individual  lots  and  of  the  l)uildings  which 
can  be  most  profitably  erected  upon  them. 

The  methods  of  taxation  and  assessment  greatly  influence 
the  actions  of  landowners,  and  of  those  having  money  to 
invest  in  land,  buildings,  or  building  mortgages.  These 
methods  have  a  direct  influence  upon  the  speculative  holding 
of  unproductive  property ;  upon  the  extent  to  which  de- 
velopment is  carried  on  in  a  scattered,  sporadic  manner,  so 
as  to  involve  relatively  large  expense  to  the  community  for 
streets,  transportation,  sewerage,  etc.,  in  ])roportion  to  the 
inhabitants  served  ;  upon  the  quality  and  durability  of  build- 
ing; and,  in  those  states  where  property  is  classified  and 
taxed   at   varying   rates,   upon   the   class   of   improvements 


INTRODUCTION  13- 

favored.  Exemption  from  taxation  for  a  certain  period,  or 
other  similar  bonus,  is  a  familiar  device  in  some  cities  to 
encourage  a  desired  class  of  developments,  such  as  new  fac- 
tories. 

But  the  most  direct  and  conspicuous  means  of  controlling 
developments  on  private  property  is  through  the  exercise  of 
the  police  power,  as  in  the  case  of  building  codes,  tenement- 
house  laws,  and  special  district  regulations.  The  first  ob- 
ject of  building  codes,  and  of  the  system  of  building  per- 
mits and  inspections  through  which  they  are  enforced,  is  to 
ensure  proper  structural  stability.  A  second  object  is  to 
reduce  the  danger  of  fire  to  a  reasonable  point.  A  third 
object  is  to  guard  against  conditions  unreasonably  danger- 
ous to  health.  Tenement-house  laws,  factory  laws,  and 
other  special  provisions  operating  in  addition  to  the  general 
building  code  of  a  city,  are  directed  mainly  toward  the  pro- 
tection of  people  using  special  kinds  of  buildings,  against 
unhealthful  conditions  and  against  personal  risks  from  fire 
and  accident.  Buildings  are  classified  according  to  the  pur- 
poses for  which  they  are  used,  according  to  their  location 
with  respect  to  arbitrary  boundaries  (such  as  "fire  limits"), 
according  to  the  materials  of  which  they  are  built,  and  in 
dozens  of  other  ways :  and  for  each  class,  minute  and  varied 
prescriptions  and  prohibitions  are  made  which,  in  the  aggre- 
gate, play  an  important  i)art  in  determining  the  size,  height, 
purposes,  plan,  general  appearance,  and  cost  of  the  struc- 
tures which  a  lot  owner  can  erect  and  those  which  he  can 
expect  his  neighbor  to  erect.  The  amount  of  light  entering 
any  given  window  in  a  city,  and,  in  a  general  way,  the 
amount  of  air,  is  dependent  mainly  upon  the  distance  to  the 
next  ojiposite  building  wall  and  the  height  to  which  that 
wall  rises  above  the  level  of  the  window.  An  examination 
of  the  Ijuilding  codes  and  tenement-house  laws  of  thirty- 
five  American  cities  shows  a  confusing  <liversity  in  the  regu- 
lations limiting  l)uilding  heights  and  horizontal  spaces  to  be 


14  CITY  PLANNING 

left  open,  and  there  are  some  cities  in  which  there  is  prac- 
tically no  effective  regulation  at  all. 

While  such  regulations  are  intended  only  to  guard  against 
the  evil  results  of  ignorance  and  greed  on  the  part  of  land- 
owners and  builders,  they  also  limit  and  control  the  opera- 
tions of  those  who  are  neither  ignorant  nor  greedy ;  and  it 
is  clear  that  the  purpose  in  framing  and  enforcing  them 
should  be  to  leave  open  the  maximum  scope  for  individual 
enterprise,  initiative,  and  ingenuity  that  is  compatible  with 
adequate  protection  of  the  public  interests.  Such  regula- 
tions are,  and  always  should  be,  in  a  state  of  flux  and  ad- 
justment— on  the  one  hand  with  a  view  to  preventing  newly 
discovered  abuses,  and  on  the  other  hand  with  a  view  to 
opening  a  wider  opportunity  of  individual  discretion  at 
points  where  the  law  is  found  to  be  unwisely  restrictive. 
In  a  country  which  relies  for  its  progress  primarily  upon 
individual  initiative  under  the  stimulus  furnished  by  the 
institution  of  private  property,  the  major  part  and  the  most 
intimate  part  of  the  physical  environment  of  the  people — 
their  workshops  and  their  dwellings — must  inevitably  be  in 
private  ownership.  And  unless  we  make  the  revolutionary 
change  of  putting  our  main  reliance  on  collectivism,  we  must 
avoid  going  so  far  in  the  collective  control  over  private 
property  as  to  make  the  mass  of  property  owners  feel  that 
they  are  no  longer  free  and  responsible  beings  with  their 
destiny  in  their  own  hands. 

The  nature  of  public  control  over  private  real  estate  as 
a  part  of  city  planning,  especially  under  the  police  power, 
is  so  fully  discussed  in  Chapter  III  that  it  is  proper  to  pass 
it  over  here  with  a  reference  far  briefer  than  its  importance 
in  relation  to  otiier  parts  of  this  outline  would  suggest.  But 
it  seems  necessary  to  consider  what  looks  to  some  people 
like  a  fundamental  conflict  between  the  new  city  planning 
ideal  of  a  unified  control  over  the  entire  physical  city  and 
the  basic  ideals  of  an  individualistic  democracy. 


INTRODUCTION  15 

Like  other  aspects  of  public  affairs  city  planning  can  be 
a])proache(l  from  either  of  two  contrasting  viewpoints. 
Those  approaching  it  from  one  side  lay  great  stress  upon 
efficiency,  upon  that  concentration  of  authority  without 
which  the  greatest  efticiency  is  im})ossible,  and  upon  the 
application  of  rigorous  scientific  methods.  In  all  of  which 
they  are  absolutely  right.  But  they  are  apt  to  underestimate 
the  difficulty  of  deciding  wisely  what  ends  ought  to  be  thus 
efficiently  and  scientifically  pursued,  and  to  feel  a  serene 
confidence  in  their  own  ability  or  that  of  some  expert  or 
some  bureaucratic  group  to  settle  just  what  the  community 
should  aim  at  as  well  as  to  direct  the  executive  business  of 
pursuing  those  aims.  This  attitude  is  rather  characteristic 
of  the  able  and  efficient  city  planning  authorities  in  Ger- 
many, despite  the  fact  that  they  have  pointed  out  how  their 
predecessors  in  the  earlier  days  of  German  city  planning 
were  notably  efficient  in  doing  exactly  the  wrong  things. 
Those  who  have  this  easy  confidence  that  wdsdom  in  select- 
ing the  ends  to  be  pursued,  like  efficiency  in  gathering  data, 
in  devising  means,  and  in  putting  them  into  execution,  is  to 
be  obtained  mainly  by  concentration  of  authority  and  reli- 
ance on  experts,  are  apt  to  distrust  and  dislike  the  groping, 
blundering  process  by  which  democratic  public  opinion  is 
formed  and  modified.  In  other  words,  they  are  apt  to  have 
the  temper  of  mind  which  we  call  aristocratic  or  bureau- 
cratic. If  they  entertain  the  hope  that  a  majority  can  be 
brought  to  their  way  of  thinking,  they  may  call  themselves 
socialists,  or  social-democrats,  or  something  of  that  sort. 
Whether  proletarians  or  aristocrats  they  are  alike  willing 
to  subordinate  individual  initiative  on  the  part  of  most  of 
the  people  to  the  initiative  of  some  central  authority. 

Advocates  of  city  i)lanning  who  approach  it  from  the  op- 
posite viewpoint  are  also  eager  for  efficiency  and  conse- 
(juently  for  a  sufficient  concentration  of  authority  to  make 
])ossil)le  a  high  degree  of  administrative  efficiency,  and  they 


16  CITY  PLANNING 

rcco^ize  clearly  that  the  greatest  attainable  good  for  the 
individuals  who  constitute  a  community  today  and  those  who 
will  constitute  it  in  the  future  can  be  had  only  by  joint  ac- 
tion for  harmonizing  the  more  wasteful  or  injurious  conflicts 
of  individual  enterprise.  Dut  they  have  a  saving  humor 
which  recognizes  that  any  group  of  people,  including  them- 
selves, will  always  combine  a  substantial  percentage  of  error 
along  with  their  wisdom,  and  will  cling  to  the  one  almost  as 
tenaciously  as  to  the  other.  They  accept  the  rather  sardonic 
definition  of  an  efficient  executive  as  "one  who  decides 
quickly  and  is  sometimes  right ;"  but  to  prevent  the  diligent 
and  efficient  pursuit  of  mistaken  ends  from  being  continued 
until  the  very  authors  of  the  mistakes  can  see  them,  they  rely 
upon  the  common  sense  of  all  the  people  as  the  safest  possi- 
ble control.     In  other  words,  they  are  democrats. 

And  they  recognize  that  the  social  development  of  cities 
is  a  complex  evolutionary  process  of  which  the  most  thor- 
ough scientific  study  can  give  only  a  partial  understanding; 
a  process  identical  with  the  development,  in  their  social  rela- 
tions, of  the  individuals  who  compose  the  city :  a  process 
dependent  upon  the  active  play  of  individual  efforts  and 
conflicts.  They  look  to  city  planning  in  its  control  over  de- 
velopments on  private  property  not  as  something  to  super- 
sede individual  initiative,  but  as  a  means  of  expressing  and 
defining  the  kind  and  degree  of  discipline  under  which 
individual  initiative  can  attain  for  itself  the  best  all-round 
results. 

As  long  as  city  planning  control  over  private  property  is 
pursued  in  this  democratic,  modest,  common-sense  spirit, 
there  is  no  vital  danger  to  be  feared  even  from  wholly  un- 
precedented applications  of  the  police  power.  The  entire 
subject,  so  conceived,  is  free  from  any  necessary  connection 
witii  the  faults  of  the  centralized,  arbitrary,  bureaucratic 
control  to  be  found  in  some  (ierman  cities,  or  with  the  the- 
orizing extremes  of  socialists  or  single  taxers. 


INTRODUCTION  17 

We  have  considered  the  three  main  divisions  of  city 
planning-,  deaHng  respectively  with  the  lands  devoted  to  the 
means  of  circulation,  the  lands  devoted  to  other  puhlic  pur- 
poses, and  the  lands  in  private  ov^nership.  Within  all  of 
these  divisions,  the  actual  work  of  city  planning  comprises 
the  following  steps :  The  first  step  is  a  study  of  conditions 
and  tendencies,  a  survey  of  the  pertinent  facts  and  an  esti- 
mate of  the  most  probable  future  changes  in  those  facts. 
The  second  step  is  a  definition  of  purposes  to  be  attained. 
J'he  third  step  is  the  planning  of  physical  results  suit- 
able to  these  purposes.  The  fourth  and  last  step  is  the 
bringing  of  those  plans  to  execution  through  suitable  legal 
and  administrative  machinery.  Every  one  of  those  steps 
of  progression  is  vital ;  every  part  of  the  three  main  divisions 
of  the  field  is  important.  The  following  chapters  of  this 
book,  written  by  as  many  dififerent  men,  illustrate  typical 
parts  of  the  field  considered  from  the  point  of  view  some- 
times of  one  step  of  progression,  sometimes  of  another. 

As  a  final  word  of  introduction,  it  may  be  well  to  em- 
phasize another  principle  which,  if  fully  appreciated,  makes 
for  an  efifective  unity  of  design  in  city  planning,  in  spite  of 
the  diversity  in  its  problems  and  in  the  technical  training 
required  to  meet  them.  Every  element  in  their  physical  en- 
vironment affects'  the  people  in  some  degree  both  on  the 
economic  side,  as  determining  their  efficiency,  and  on  the 
esthetic  side,  as  determining  their  enjoyment  of  life.  There- 
fore, in  the  design  of  everything  which  enters  into  the  city, 
both  of  these  aspects  must  be  given  weight. 

The  demands  of  beauty  are  in  large  measure  identical  with 
those  of  efficiency  and  economy,  and  differ  mainly  in  re- 
quiring a  closer  approach  to  perfection  in  the  adaptation  of 
means  to  ends  than  is  required  to  meet  the  merely  economic 
standard.  .So  far  as  the  demands  of  beauty  can  be  dis- 
tinguished from  those  of  economy,  the  kind  of  beauty  most 
to  be  sought  in  the  planning  of  cities  is  that  which  results 


i8  CITY  PLANxXING 

from  seizing  instinctively,  with  a  keen  and  sensitive  appre- 
ciation, the  Hmitless  opportunities  which  present  themselves 
in  the  course  of  the  most  rigorously  practical  solution  of 
any  problem,  for  a  choice  between  decisions  of  substantially 
equal  economic  merit,  but  of  widely  differing  aesthetic  qual- 
ity. 

Regard  for  beauty  must  neither  follow  after  regard  for 
the  practical  ends  to  be  obtained  nor  precede  it,  but  must 
inseparably  accompany  it. 


CHAPTER   II 

THE   SUBDIVISION   OF  LAND 

Recent  progress  in  city  planning  has  brought  increasing 
conviction  of  the  interrelation  of  one  part  of  the  subject  to 
another.  For  example,  the  proper  subdivision  of  land  di- 
rectly affects  and  is  affected  by  the  street  system,  by  trans- 
portation and  recreation  facilities,  by  restrictions  upon  the 
use  of  private  property,  by  schemes  for  industrial  and  resi- 
dential decentralization,  and  by  other  matters  to  which  spe- 
cial chapters  in  this  volume  are  devoted.  So  far  as  possible, 
therefore,  this  discussion  of  land  subdivision  in  its  relation  to 
city  planning  will  confine  itself  to  those  phases  of  the  subject 
which  are  not  covered  elsewhere  in  the  book.  It  will  as- 
sume, especially,  the  existence  of  a  system  of  main  thor- 
oughfares, and  the  restrictions  upon  private  property  dis- 
cussed in  detail  in  another  chapter,  including  the  districting 
of  a  city. 

Main  Classes  of  Land  Subdivision 

Broadly  speaking,  city  land,  from  the  point  of  view  of 
land  subdivision,  may  be  put  into  three  main  classes,  namely  : 
land  for  industrial  use,  land  for  retail  and  wholesale  busi- 
ness, and  land  for  residential  purposes. 

The  subdivision  of  land  for  industrial  use  varies  so  much 
with  the  different  requirements  of  industries  that  it  is  not 
possible  to  set  down  any  rules  for  its  laying  out  except  those 
that  are  common  to  all  planning  that  has  to  do  with  land. 
Some  industries  can  be  well  accommodated  on  an  ordinarv 

19 


20 


CITY  PLANNING 


city  lot,  while  others  require  hundreds  of  acres,  portions  of 
it  in  large  blocks  undivided  by  public  streets.  It  is  more 
and  more  evident  that  economic  and  other  advantages,  es- 
pecially in  the  case  of  large  industries,  follow  from  the  loca- 


MissTSsiPi'i   River   Industrial   District,   Keokuk,   Iowa 
Showing    subdivision   of   land    for    industrial    use 

tion  of  sucii  establishments  away  from  the  densely  built-up 
sections  of  cities.^ 

Retail  business  property  also  varies  in  its  requirements 
as  to  land,  but  not  to  so  great  an  extent  as  property  for 

^  Sec  Oiap.  XV;  also  John  Nolen,  "The  Factory  and  the  Home." 
in  Proceedings  of  the  National  Housing  .Issociatidu,  Philadelphia, 
(1912). 


Plan-   Ri;ci;ivi.\g  First  Prize  in  the  Co-Mi'inrriox    eok  the  Subdivi- 
sion  OF  A  Quarter-section   of  Land  Carried  ox   by  the 
Chicago  Citv   Ci.i'i; 


THE  SUBDIVISION  OF  LAND  21 

industrial  use.  Except  in  the  case  of  new  cities,  laid  out  in 
advance  of  settlement,  city  l)usiness  buildings  usually  occupy 
land  that  was  originally  laid  out  for  residential  use.  The 
business  districts  of  our  cities  grow  naturally  by  extending 
more  and  more  into  surrounding  residential  neighborhoods. 
It  is  this  fact  which  makes  important  the  reasonable  adapta- 
bility, if  need  be,  of  residential  property  for  business  pur- 
poses. As  a  general  rule,  business  has  much  less  choice 
than  industries  and  residences  in  the  selection  of  localities 
in  which  it  may  be  successfully  established.  The  locations 
for  business  are  determined  largely  by  the  street  and 
transportation  system,  by  street  widths  and  grades,  and  by 
proximity  to  existing  business  centers.  Normal  business 
requirements  are  fairly  well  met  by  such  lot  units  as  those 
typical  of  New  York  City,  which  are  uniformly  100  feet 
deep,  and  25  feet  wide  in  Manhattan  and  the  Bronx,  and 
20  feet  wide  in  Brooklyn,  Queens  and  Richmond.  This 
makes  a  block  (without  alleys)  200  feet  deep.  The  length 
of  the  blocks  varies  from  500  to  800  feet ;  a  block  over  600 
feet  in  length  places  the  streets  in  a  business  district  too 
far  apart.  The  important  factor  is  the  depth  of  lots.  Busi- 
ness readily  adjusts  itself  to  lot  width,  and  gets  about  what 
it  wants  in  street  frontage.  In  the  matter  of  depth,  how- 
ever, business  is  almost  equally  embarrassed  by  much  varia- 
tion above  as  below  100  feet.  In  the  case  of  very  large 
business  houses,  such  as  department  stores,  hotels,  and  of- 
fice buildings,  where  the  demand  is  abnormal,  the  special 
requirements  are  easily  met  by  taking  the  double  depth  of 
lots,  thus  extending  the  building  from  street  to  street. 


The  SunnivisiON  of  Residential  Property 

The  principal  field  of  land  subdivision,  however — the  class 
which  concerns  at  least  two-thirds  of  all  city  land — is  resi- 


22  CITY  PLANNING 

dential  property.  In  fact,  when  land  subdivision  is  spoken 
of,  it  is  ordinarily  assumed  that  it  refers  to  the  laying  out 
of  land  for  dwellings.  The  evils  of  undesirable  and  unin- 
telligent land  subdivision  in  the  case  of  residential  property 
are  also  more  apparent  and  more  in  the  public  eye,  although 
perhaps  not  more  important,  than  in  the  case  of  industrial 
and  business  property.  There  is  a  widespread  feeling  in 
this  country  and  abroad  that  city  planning  has  thought  more 
of  streets,  of  civic  centers,  of  parks  and  playgrounds,  and 
of  other  subjects,  than  it  has  of  housing.  English  and  Ger- 
man town  planners  are  constantly  asking:  "Why  is  hous- 
ing not  given  more  attention  by  city  planners  in  the  United 
States  ?"  For  example,  one  English  writer  recently  said : 
"In  America  it  is  the  fear  of  restricting  or  injuring  free 
and  open  competition  that  has  made  it  so  difficult  for  cities 
to  exercise  proper  and  efficient  control  over  their  develop- 
ment. The  tendency,  therefore,  has  been  to  promote  those 
forms  of  civic  improvement  which  can  be  carried  out  with- 
out interfering  with  vested  interests.  To  impose  severe 
sanitary  restrictions,  to  limit  the  height  and  density  of 
dwellings,  or  to  prevent  the  destruction  of  amenities  on  pri- 
vately owned  land,  may  all  help  to  reduce  the  profits  of  the 
speculator — hence  if  he  has  any  influence  over  the  local  gov- 
erning bodies,  he  will  secure  that  nothing  but  what  is  abso- 
lutely necessary  and  legal  shall  be  done  in  these  directions. 
But  to  purchase  large  public  parks  and  to  develop  civic  cen- 
ters adds  to  the  value  of  the  privately  owned  land  and  build- 
ings in  the  city.  Unsanitary  homes  are  more  bearable,  and 
good  class  residences  will  produce  higher  rents,  when  they 
are  adjacent  to  pul)lic  open  spaces."  This  criticism  is  typical 
of  many  otliers,  and  in  the  main  it  is  true. 


THE  SUBDIVISION  OF  LAND  23 


Reasons    Why    Land    Subdivision    Has    Not    Been    Given 
More  Attention 

There  is  much  to  be  said,  however,  in  explanation  of  this 
criticism.  There  are  reasons  why  land  subdivision  has  not 
l)cen  given  more  attention  by  city  planners  in  this  country. 
Some  of  the  more  important  are  the  following: 

1.  Until  recently,  aside  from  a  few  large  cities  and 
other  more  or  less  exceptional  developments,  the  characteris- 
tic housing  in  American  towns  and  cities  has  been  relatively 
good,  so  far  as  the  subdivision  of  the  land  and  city  planning 
could  affect  it  one  way  or  another.  The  actual  lots  as  built 
upon  have  been,  usually,  from  25  to  40  feet  in  width,  and 
100  feet  or  more  in  depth,  with  eight  or  ten  houses,  or  less, 
to  the  acre — the  standard  of  English  garden  city  density. 

2.  The  rights  and  limitations  of  American  municipalities 
iiave  been  such  that  matters  controlled  by  land  subdivision — 
that  is,  location,  width,  etc.,  of  streets,  width  and  depth  of 
lots,  and  the  general  character  of  houses — have  often  been 
largely  determined  before  the  outlying  sections  have  been 
included  within  the  city  boundaries,  and  there  has  been 
l)ractically  no  effective  control  of  such  matters  by  rural  or 
county  governments. 

3.  Public  opinion  generally  was  not — and,  in  fact,  is  not 
yet — favora1)le  to  the  strict  public  regulation  and  control  of 
the  laying  out  of  residential  neighborhoods.  It  is,  indeed, 
very  difficult  to  make  an  advance,  even  in  sanitary  require- 
ments, in  measures  for  the  reduction  of  fire  hazard,  and 
in  the  reasonable  protection  of  light  and  air — administrative 
regulations  which  might  naturally  be  expected  to  receive  at- 
tention in  advance  of  1)road  city  ]:»lanning.  A  leader  in 
.American  housing  reform  has  said  that  "the  housing  prob- 
lem, as  we  know  it  in  America,  is  largely  a  sanitary  prob- 
lem.     It   is  chic)ly  the  prol)lcm  of  good   municipal  house- 


24  CITY  PLANNING 

keeping,  the  prompt  removal  of  garbage,  rubbish,  and  other 
waste  materials  from  the  homes  of  the  poor,  the  cleanliness 
of  streets  and  alleys,  the  provision  of  adequate  water  supply 
in  convenient  locations,  proper  sanitary  conveniences  in  the 
place  of  antiquated  expedients."  At  any  rate,  there  is  a 
widespread  feeling  that  public-health  matters  of  this  sort 
should  have  first  attention.  Thus,  the  obstacles  to  regulating 
and  controlling  land  subdivision  are  greatly  increased  in  this 
country  by  the  laissez-faire  doctrine,  by  what  is  known  as 
the  rights  of  individual  property,  and  by  the  strength  of 
vested  interests. 

4.  On  account  of  the  Federal  Constitution,  which  pro- 
vides that  private  property  cannot  be  taken  except  for  public 
use,  and  with  due  process  of  law  and  just  compensation,  and 
on  account  of  the  conservatism  of  our  courts  in  interpreting 
the  Constitution  and  the  law,  it  is  always  very  difficult,  and 
often  very  costly,  to  regulate  or  control  land  subdivision  by 
public  authority.  In  many  cases  the  state  constitutions  fol- 
low' the  Federal  Constitution. 

5.  The  disinclination  of  private  capital,  except  in  the 
case  of  a  few  employers  for  their  own  employees,  to  re- 
spond to  invitations  and  opportunities  to  invest  in  housing 
schemes  on  the  limited  dividend  principle,  yielding  only  the 
normal  business  interest  on  invested  funds  of.  say,  five  or 
six  per  cent.,  is  another  reason  why  housing  and  land  sub- 
division have  not  apparently  been  given  more  attention 
in  this  country  by  landscape  architects  and  town  and  city 
planners.  Cooperation  in  housing  schemes,  as  in  other  mat- 
ters, has  not  yet  succeeded  in  the  United  States  as  it  has  in 
Europe. 

To  avoid  misapprehension,  however,  it  should  be  added 
that  all  these  reasons  have  recently  been  losing  strength. 
The  public  is  becoming  more  and  more  aware  of  the  need 
and  advantages  of  a  somewhat  radical  change  with  regard 
to  all  of  them. 


THE  SUBDIVISION  OF  LAND  25 

Reliable  Data  on  Lot  Sizes 

One  hesitates  and  is  naturally  timid  in  attempting  to  dis- 
cuss land  subdivision  and  its  effects  upon  housing,  because 
so  little  reliable  data  of  any  considerable  extent  exist  on 
the  subject.  Much  laying  out  of  land  has  been  done,  but  the 
merit  of  one  scheme  as  against  another  has  not  been  tested. 
To  give  a  basis  for  conclusions  and  to  guide  future  action 
in  this  matter,  the  executive  committee  of  the  National 
Conference  on  City  Planning  has  recently  determined  to 
make  a  systematic  compilation  of  facts  and  of  well-digested 
opinion  in  regard  to  the  most  effective  and  satisfactory 
units  of  land  subdivision  for  various  purposes  and  under 
various  conditions  in  American  cities.  The  instructions  to 
this  committee  are,  broadly,  to  gather  and  digest  any  in- 
formation likely  to  be  of  practical  assistance  to  those  re- 
sponsible for  maintaining  and  improving  the  quality  of  land 
subdivision  plans.  It  is  the  intention  to  gather  the  essen- 
tial facts  about  the  more  important  types  of  subdivision 
plans  which  have  been  tested  in  actual  use  in  the  United 
States,  and  which  have  proved  their  advantages  and  dis- 
advantages to  the  developer,  to  the  owners  and  occupants, 
and  to  the  general  public.  An  effort  will  be  made  to  con- 
centrate the  study  mainly  upon  a  limited  number  of  urban 
districts,  representing  large,  small,  and  middle-sized  cities, 
some  flat,  some  hilly,  some  located  in  each  section  of 
the  country.  The  investigation  will  seek  to  discover  the 
physical  results,  the  sociological  results,  and  the  financial 
results  of  the  various  types.  The  more  important  points 
outlined  for  study  are:  depth  of  lot,  width  of  lot,  width 
and  improvement  of  streets,  alleys,  open  spaces  other  than 
all(jys  within  the  blocks,  and  building  or  other  restrictions. 

The  first  results  of  this  committee's  investigation  are 
now    available,    the    local    committees    from    the    foUowiiiir 


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28  CITY  PLANNING 

municipalities  having  reported  :  Berkeley,  California  ;  Bos- 
ton, Massachusetts ;  Bridgeport,  Connecticut ;  Brookline, 
Massachusetts  ;  Chicago,  Illinois  ;  Cleveland,  Ohio  ;  Detroit, 
Michigan;  Kansas  City,  Missouri;  Louisville,  Kentucky; 
New  York,  New  York ;  Newark,  New  Jersey ;  Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania ;  Syracuse,  New  York ;  Washington,  District 
of  Columbia. 

The  gist  of  the  conclusions  deduced  by  the  local  reporter, 
as  summarized  in  the  Committee's  preliminary  report,  may 
be  stated  as  follows :  ^ 

/.    Lot  Size 

Berkeley 50  ft.  x  159  ft. 

Boston 50  to  80  ft.  X  250  to  300  ft.  originally. 

15  to  25   ft.  X     50  to     65  ft.  now. 
Bridgeport..  .  .30,  40  to  50  ft.  x  100  ft.  (few,  125  ft.). 
Brookline  ...  .40  to  60  ft.  x  90  to  100  ft.   (majority). 
Chicago 50  to  80  ft.  x  160  to  180  ft.  originally. 

25  to  75   ft.  X  125  ft.  now. 
Cleveland  ...  .40  to  50  ft.  x  100  to   150   ft. 
Detroit 50  ft.  x  100  to  190  ft. 

30  ft.  x  100  to  125  ft. 
Kansas  City.  .25  ft.  x  150  ft.,  and  larger. 
Louisville.... ft.  x  200  ft.  at  first. 

ft.  X  100  ft.  of  late. 

New  York. ...25  ft.  x  100  ft.  Manhattan,  Bronx. 

20  ft.  X  100  ft.  Brooklyn,   Queens,   Richmond. 
Newark 25   ft.  x  100  ft. 

Few  20  ft.  X  100  ft. 
Philadelphia.  .14  to  16  ft.  x  45  to  125   ft.  mostly. 

19  to  22  ft.  X  75  to  105  ft.  few. 
Syracuse 200  ft.  x  200  ft.,  33  to   too  ft.   x   100  to  200   ft. 

140  ft.  X  4<X6  ft.,  66  ft.  x  132  ft.,  40  ft.  x  120  ft. 

'  From  report  presented  for  the  Committee  by  Mr.  E.  P.  Goodrich, 
at  the  meeting  of  the  National  Conference  on  City  Planning,  De- 
troit, June  7-9,  1915. 


THE  SUBDIVISION  OF  LAND  29 

Mr.  L.  Veillcr  ^  46  cities,  ft.  x  50  to  200  ft. 

25  (a)  more  than   125  ft. 
9  @  more  than  150  ft. 

Philadelphia  is  in  a  class  by  itself 15  ft.  x  60  ft.  Ave. 

New    England    (Boston,    Brookline)    is    irregular   but   tending 

toward  40  to  60  ft.  x  90  to  100  ft. 

New  York   (and  Newark) 20  to  25  ft.  x  100  ft. 

Middle-western  and  Western  cities  ,  with  later  tendencies 

toward  reduction  in  both  dimensions. 

//.     Lot  Sice  Change  Tendencies  2 

Brodkline 90  to  100  ft.  large  majority. 

76         special  study  majority. 
Chicago 125  ft.  standard  for  depth   (for  40  years). 

80  and  50  ft.  width  split. 

20  to  30  ft.  retained. 
Louisville  . . .  .Reducing  to  100  ft.  depth. 
New  York...  .100  ft.  standard  (no  change  for  over  100  years). 

Newark 100  ft.  standard. 

Philadelphia.  .Depth  tending  to  shallowest  possible. 
.Syracuse 128  ft.  Ave.  of  11  late  additions. 

General  tendency  shown  toward  reduction  in  depth,  except 
New  York  (Newark)  and  Chicago  at  100  and  125  ft.  respec- 
tively, 100-  and  40-year  standards. 

^  Statements  of  Mr.  Lawrence  Veillcr,  Director  of  the  National 
Housing  Association,  based  upon  returns  from  46  cities,  presented 
in  full  in  tlic  Proceedings  of  the  National  Conference  on  City  I'lan- 
ning.   Pliiladclphia,    Alay,    191 1. 

"To  i)rovi(lc  for  cliangcs  in  the  depth  of  lots,  it  would  be  prac- 
ticable to  lay  out  lots  for  residential  pur])()ses  at  double  the  normal 
<k'i)tli  plus  tlic  width  of  an  extra  street,  say  50  feet,  placing  ai)pro- 
priate  restrictions  on  the  use  of  tlie  property  to  I)e  used  later  for 
t!ie  street.  Ibis  would  give  lots  at  first,  say,  225  feet  deep.  Later 
when  land  Ijccame  more  valuable,  tlie  intermediate  street  could  I>e 
cut  tbrougb,  and  the  final  lots,   100  feet  in  depth,  established. 


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THE  SUBDIVISION  OF  LAND 


31 


Cities  which  had  lots  deeper  than  100  ft.  tending  toward  that 
figure. 

New  England  with  its  irregular  size  tending  below  100  ft. 

Philadelphia  tending  to  smallest  possible. 

Widths  in  all  places  (except  Philadelphia)  tend  down  to 
about  30  ft.,  while  larger  and  wider  than  20  ft.  are  recom- 
mended everywhere. 


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port, Conn. 


///.     Effect  of  Lot  Si::c  on  Type  of  Development 

Berkeley Lots  150  ft.  deep  produce  rear  houses. 

Pjrookline  .  . .  .Lots  even   70  to  80   ft.    (chiefly  above    100   ft.) 

have  had  rear  buildings  erected. 
Chicago 125  ft.  depth  not  economical  for  poor  rcsi<lciitia! 

districts. 


32  CITY  PLANNING 

80  ft.  width  too  large  for  general  use;  even  50*5 
split  and  redivided;  20-30  ft.  lots  being  re- 
tained. 

Cleveland "Too  large"   (deep)   lots  tend  to  rear  buildings 

with  congestion  and  depression  of  value. 

Kansas  City.. Good  residences  use  wider  than  25  ft.;  poorer 
ones  use  25  ft.  width. 

Louisville ....  Deep  lots  lead  to  narrow  ones  with  dark  houses, 
,  and   badly   shaped   stores.      Narrow   lots   with 

rear  dwellings  are  depressed  in  value. 

New  York. ...Less  than  100  ft.  impracticable  for  lofls,  offices, 
apartments ;  also  gives  bad  tenements  because 
no  open  space  in  center  of  block.  More  than 
100  ft.  gives  narrow  bad  tenement  courts. 

Newark Lot  width  tends  to  determine  class  of  structure. 

Narrow  lots — narrow  houses.  100  ft.  affords 
room  for  rear  tenements. 

Philadelphia.  .Single-house  tendency  has  dictated  lot  size,  un- 
fortunately. In  conversion  to  business  use, 
original  lot  lines  usually  followed,  although 
often  ignored. 

Veiller Most  housing  troubles  due  to  deep  lots. 

Lot  area  seems  to  be  the  original  determining  factor.  Deep 
lots  are  made  narrow,  narrow  lots  lead  to  narrow  buildings, 
bad  for  residence  or  business.  Deep  lots  even  down  to  70  to  80 
ft.  tend  toward  having  rear  buildings,  often  residences.  These 
conditions  lead  toward  congestion  with  lowered  values. 

Except  in  Philadelphia,  lot  size  has  generally  influenced 
building  size  and  number  per  lot.  In  Philadelphia  desire  for 
single-family  house  has  developed  small  size  of  lot. 

IV.     Effect  of  Lot  and  Incidental  Building  Sice  on  Real-Estate 

Values 

Berkeley Land   values   arc   independent  of  lot   or  building 

class  and  (k'])end  on  usal)leness  of  projjerty. 


THE  SUBDIVISION  OF  LAND  33 

Brookline , . .  .Poor  occupancy  restrains  rise  in  values. 
Louisville ...  .Building   cheap   class   of   houses   detrimental   to 

moral    health    of    community.      Shallower   lots 

will  stabilize  values. 
New  York... Land   values  are  independent  of  lot  or  building 

class  and  depend  on  usableness  of  property. 
Philadelphia.  .Increased  frontage  has  larger  efifect  than  depth. 

Poor  occupancy  depresses  values. 
Washington ..  Effect  of  opening  up  center  of  a  large  block  for 

playground  purposes  has  been  to  eliminate  bad 

class  of  population. 

Where  growth  is  active,  either  in  number  of  residences  or 
conversion  to  other  uses,  the  existing  lot  and  building  size  is 
of  little  moment.  Where  conversion  is  slower,  the  larger 
plots  are  worth  more  because  more  easily  converted. 

Established  poor  occupancy  tends  to  depress  or  at  least 
restrain  increase  of  values  through  natural  depreciation  and 
shift  of  classes  of  occupants  dependent  upon  condition  of 
dwelling. 

V.     Effect  of  Restrictions  on  Conditions 

Berkeley Voluntary  restriction  works  well  toward  increas- 
ing values. 

Bridgeport ..  .Lack  of  restrictions  permitted  bad  housing  con- 
ditions to  grow. 

Louisville ...  .Colored  problem  has  dictated  restrictions. 

New  York. ...Lack  of  restriction  as  to  per  cent  of  lot  area 
covered  has  been  detrimental. 

Newark Restricted  districts  have  increased  in  value;  oth- 
ers have  not. 

Philadelphia.  .Zoning  will  materially  affect  problem. 

Legal  restrictions  as  to  per  cent  of  lot  which  may  be  cov- 
ered, shape  of  courts,  and  locations  of  buildings  on  lots,  must 
be  added  to  conditioning  lot  sizes  if  best  results  are  to  be  at- 
tained. 


34  CITY  PLANNING 


VI.    Alleys 

Chicago Alleys  deliberately  designed. 

Detroit Alleys  deliberately  designed. 

Kansas  City.. In  very  large  blocks,  alleys  have  been  used. 

Louisville ...  .Large  blocks  had  alleys  (sometimes  blind). 
They  had  poor  quality  structures  erected  on 
them.  Modern  tendencies  are  away  from  use 
of  alleys. 

Veiller 25  cities  deliberately  designed  alleys. 

Efforts  to  make  use  of  w^aste  land  in  deep  lots  led  to  alleys. 
In  some  cities  they  were  deliberately  designed.  Their  pres- 
ence, whether  deliberate  or  evolutionary,  is  bad  as  now  used. 


VII.     Standard  Dimensions 

Berkeley 100  ft.  depth  used   in    ideal   rearrangement. 

Chicago 125  ft.  depth   except    in   poorer   residential   sec- 
tions. 

Xew  York. ...100  ft.  best    for  convertibility. 

Newark House    with    proper    size    and    arrangement    of 

rooms  should  be  the  basis. 

Philadelphia.  .Desires  a  standard. 

Veiller Shallowest  possible. 

(High-class    residence,    125    ft.;    middle-class, 
50  ft.;  poor-class,  25  ft.) 

Standards  are  exceedingly  desirable. 

A  lot  depth  of  100  to  125  ft.  is  apparent  aim  of  best  stand- 
ardized conditions  and  of  present  tendencies.  It  is  divisible 
according  to  Veiller. 

In  any  event,  restrictions  should  be  imposed  by  law. 


THE  SUBDIVISION  OF  LAND  35 


The  Controlling  Purpose  of  Land  Subdivision 

What  is  the  controIHng  purpose  of  land  subdivision  in  the 
United  States?  The  question  is  not  "What  should  it  be?" 
but  "What  is  it?"  The  controlling  purpose  of  land  subdi- 
vision is  profit,  to  make  money  by  dividing  and,  in  some 
cases,  improving  the  land  in  such  a  way  as  to  realize  the 
largest  possible  profit.  We  do  not  say  that  this  should  not 
be  the  controlling  purpose,  nor  that  it  controls  always,  or 
even  usually,  to  a  degree  open  to  criticism.  We  are  merely 
stating  a  fact  that  must  not  be  lost  sight  of.  Indeed,  the 
owner  or  operator  who  subdivides  the  land  often  considers 
very  definitely  the  eflfect  of  the  plan  upon  the  purchaser  or 
user  of  the  land,  and  upon  the  public,  but  this  consideration 
is  subordinate.     His  controlling  purpose  is  profit. 

A  fair  question  for  consideration  here  is :  Should  the 
form  and  character  of  land  subdivision  be  determined  merely 
by  the  will  of  the  land  owner,  whose  main  motive  is  profit  ? 
If  not,  who  have  claims  for  consideration,  and  upon  what 
do  such  claims  rest?  Is  land  different  from  other  things 
that  are  bought  and  sold  ? 

There  are  really  three  parties  to  every  land  subdivision : 
the  owner  or  operator ;  the  prospective  user,  either  as  owner 
or  tenant ;  and  the  public.  It  would  represent  a  great  ad- 
vance if  we  could  come  to  look  upon  these  three  parties  as 
partners,  with  certain  interests  in  common  in  the  proper 
subdivision  of  land. 


Private  Property  in  Land 

This  is  not  the  occasion  for  a  discussion  of  the  legal  or 
economic  aspects  of  property,  but  our  practice  in  matters 
of  land  takings  and  taxation,  and  our  repeated  statements 
with  regard  to  the  jwsscssion  or  use  of  property  in  land, 


36  CITY  PLANNING 

show  that  the  law  regards  it  in  a  different  way  from  other 
private  property.  "When  the  'sacredness  of  property'  is 
talked  of,"  wrote  John  Stuart  Mill  decades  ago,  "it  should 
always  be  remembered,  that  any  such  sacredness  does  not 
belong  in  the  same  degree  to  landed  property.  No  man 
made  the  land.  It  is  the  original  inheritance  of  the  whole 
species.  Its  appropriation  is  wholly  a  question  of  general 
expediency.  When  private  property  in  land  is  not  expedient, 
it  is  unjust.  It  is  no  hardship  to  anyone,  to  be  excluded 
from  what  others  have  produced :  they  were  not  bound  to 
produce  it  for  his  use,  and  he  loses  nothing  by  not  sharing 
in  what  otherwise  would  not  have  existed  at  all.  But  it  is 
some  hardship  to  be  born  into  the  world,  and  to  find  all 
nature's  gifts  previously  engrossed,  and  no  place  left  for 
the  newcomer.  To  reconcile  people  to  this,  after  they  have 
once  admitted  into  their  minds  the  idea  that  any  moral 
rights  belong  to  them  as  human  beings,  it  will  always  be 
necessary  to  convince  them  that  the  exclusive  appropriation 
is  good  for  mankind  on  the  whole,  themselves  included." 

We  have  here  no  quarrel  with  private  ownership  in  land. 
On  the  contrary,  there  is  much  to  be  said  in  its  favor.  It 
fits  in  and  appears  to  agree  with  American  institutions  and 
characteristics.  Our  objections,  so  far  as  we  have  any, 
are  with  the  misuse  or  uncontrolled  ownership  of  private 
property  in  land — a  misuse  or  uncontrolled  ownership  that 
very  often  reacts  unfavorably  not  only  upon  the  user  of 
the  property,  be  he  owner  or  tenant,  and  upon  the  public, 
but  also  upon  the  original  developer  or  real-estate  operator 
who  continues  to  own  parcels  of  nearby  land. 

Regulation   and   Control  of  Land   Subdivision 

The  central  problem  of  land  subdivision,  we  believe,  is 
public  regulation,  control,  and  restriction.^     In  fairness  to 
'See  Chap.  TIT. 


THE  SUBDIVISION  OF  LAND  37 

all  concerned,  what  should  the  real-estate  operator  be  al- 
lowed to  do  in  this  very  important  matter  of-  divicfihg  up  and 
selling  his  property,  cutting  up  land  upon  which  people  are 
to  dwell  for  ages  to  come,  changing  agricultural  acres  whole- 
sale into  a  form  from  which  they  can  be  changed  again,  if 
at  all,  only  at  great  cost? 

The  principle  of  restrictions  in  the  subdivision  and  use 
of  land  is  well  understood  in  the  United  States,  and  very 
frequently  applied.  In  fact,  it  is  so  well  understood  and 
so  highly  valued  that  it  is  most  often  applied  in  a  surpris- 
ingly thoroughgoing  way  by  the  real-estate  operator  in  his 
own  interest.  The  restrictions  placed  upon  the  purchaser 
in  the  conveyance  of  the  property  often  include  a  long  list 
of  kinds  of  business  which  are  classified  as  nuisances,  and 
which  may  not  be  established  or  maintained  upon  the  prop- 
erty; regulation  as  to  stables  and  garages — fences  and  walls 
— set-back  of  buildings  from  streets  and  from  lot  lines — 
minimum  cost  of  buildings — easements  and  rights  of  way 
for  public  utilities,\and  in  some  cases  the  approval  of  plans 
and  specifications,  including  nature,  shape,  kind,  height, 
material,  color  scheme  and  location  of  buildings,  and  the 
grading  plans  of  the  plot  to  be  built  upon.  These  restric- 
tions or  "safeguards"  are  often  placed  for  a  period  of 
twenty-five  years  or  more,  with  the  right  of  renewal,  subject 
to  the  assent  of  the  owners.  But  can  we  depend  entirely 
upon  the  knowledge,  skill,  and  motive  of  the  owner  or  op- 
erator to  subdivide  the  land  and  place  the  restrictions?  At 
best,  his  action  is  uncertain.  It  is  applied  only  in  spots, 
often  spasmodically,  and  even  when  most  "public-spirited," 
as  we  say,  it  is  not  always  intelligent.  Again,  his  chief 
motive  must  be  profit.  He  cannot  reasonably  be  expected  to 
have  consistent  and  permanent  concern  for  the  results  of 
his  methods  upon  the  future  occupants  of  the  property,  nor 
upon  the  general  public.  Then,  may  we  not  add,  he  does 
not  always  know  what  is  best;  and  if  he  did,  not  owning 


38  CITY  PLANNING 

or  controlling  all  the  property  of  the  city  or  town,  or  even 
a  large  percentage  of  it,  he  would  not  be  able  to  make  his 
knowledge  effective.  Furthermore,  he  has  only  the  power 
of  a  private  citizen. 

A  leading  German  authority,  Professor  Reinhard  Bau- 
meister,  holds  that  the  housing  question  is  primarily  a  ques- 
tion of  land  values.  "The  value  of  a  lot,"  he  says,  "is  de- 
pendent on  the  revenue  from  it.  If  building  laws  and  local 
usage  permit  narrow  and  high  buildings,  the  buyer  must 
pay  more,  even  if  he  intends  to  build  only  a  small  house. 
Where  the  value  of  a  lot  is  high  on  account  of  building  laws, 
the  buyer  must  build  compactly  or  lose  money.  The  density 
permitted  and  the  value  of  the  lot  react  on  each  other." 
If  this  view  is  sound,  it  follows  that  the  proper  regulation 
of  the  laying  out  and  occupancy  of  land  can  do  much  to 
improve  housing  conditions.  Furthermore,  many  American 
economists  hold  that  the  laborer's  minimum  outlay  for 
house  rent  becomes  an  important  factor  in  determining 
wages.  Therefore,  the  minimum  standard  of  housing 
should  be  a  home  that  meets  the  requirements  of  safety, 
health,  convenience,  privacy,  and  that  degree  of  agreeable- 
ness  which  is  considered  essential.  Such  minimum  stand- 
ards, we  believe,  would  prove  advantageous  not  only  to 
the  workingman  and  his  employer,  but,  in  the  long  run, 
to  the  land-owning  class  also.  The  greatest  burden  of  the 
present  system,  however,  creating  automatically,  as  it  does, 
excessive  congestion  and  slums,  falls  ultimately  on  the  com- 
munity. The  effects  upon  the  community  and  the  interest 
of  the  community  in  the  matter  finally,  and  the  community's 
only  alternative,  have  been  well  stated  by  a  prominent  Amer- 
ican business  man  in  the  following  words :  "A  willing 
worker  must  be  able  to  live,  himself  and  his  family,  health- 
fully and  comfortably;  to  bring  up  his  children  in  good  sur- 
roundings ;  to  educate  them  so  that  they  may  be  truly  useful, 
good  citizens;  to  lay  aside  enough  to  provide   for  himself 


THE  SUBDIVISION  OF  LAND  39 

and  his  wife  in  their  old  age.  A  city  which  provides  less 
than  that,  directly,  must  make  up  the  deficiency  in  a  more 
costly  indirect  way.    There  is  no  escaping  this  alternative." 


The  Need  of  Technical  Skill  and  Experience 

There  are,  of  course,  technical  problems  involved  in  land 
subdivision,  and  their  solution  requires  skill  and  experience. 
Furthermore,  these  problems  of  land  subdivision  are  related 
to  still  wider  and  more  difficult  technical  problems  of  city 
planning,  city  building,  maintenance,  and  administration,  all 
requiring  still  greater  skill,  knowledge,  and  experience. 

Land  subdivision,  as  the  term  is  used  by  landscape  archi- 
tects and  engineers,  determines  the  location  and  width  of 
streets,  roads,  alleys,  and  other  open  spaces ;  the  location, 
depth  and  length  of  blocks ;  the  location  of  lot  lines,  and 
other  physical  features.  When  the  subdivision  is  made  upon 
the  initiative  of  the  real-estate  operator,  and  sometimes  when 
it  is  made  upon  the  initiative  of  public  authority,  it  deter- 
mines also  building  lines,  restrictions,  and  conditions  of  de- 
velopment. Many  examples  could  readily  be  given  of  what 
is  done,  and  how  it  is  done.  Thus  it  would  be  seen  that 
land  subdivision,  determining  so  many  matters  in  the  phys- 
ical layout  of  the  city,  has  a  very  direct  and  important  in- 
fluence upon  housing — perhaps  greater  and  more  permanent 
than  any  other  single  influence. 

Underlying  Principles 

Some  of  the  underlying  principles  of  land  subdivision  gen- 
erally accepted  as  sound  may  be  stated  as  follows : 

I.  The  plan  for  the  subdivision  of  property  should  fit 
the  topography,  and  give  due  consideration  to  natural  fea- 
tures. 


40  CITY  PLANNING 

2.  Even  if  the  land  is  relatively  level,  the  plan  should 
nevertheless  have  interest,  good  organization  and  design. 
The  point  of  view  that  leads  to  a  good  arrangement  on  hilly 
ground  gives  also  a  good  arrangement  on  level  land.  This 
was  illustrated  in  a  measure  in  the  competition  for  the  sub- 
division of  a  quarter-section  of  land  carried  on  by  the  Chi- 
cago City  Club.  Although  the  land  was  described  as  level, 
none  of  the  plans  awarded  the  prizes  followed  the  charac- 
teristic checkerboard  plan  which  usually  prevails  on  such 
property  in  American  cities. 

3.  The  use  that  is  to  be  made  of  the  land  should  de- 
termine its  general  plan  and  restrictions.  There  is  no  plan 
that  is  best  for  all  places,  nor  for  the  same  place  for  all  time. 
Merit  is  largely  a  question  of  fitness  for  its  original  purpose, 
and  its  adaptability  for  probable  future  purposes. 

4.  Thoroughfares,  and  other  broadly  related  city  plan- 
ning features,  should  be  located  first,  and  within  these  lines, 
and  in  conformity  to  them,  local  streets,  blocks  and  lots 
should  be  defined  in  the  best  possible  manner. 

5.  The  various  standards  for  various  classes  of  property, 
the  lot  widths  and  lot  depths,  the  block  widths  and  block 
depths,  recognized  by  the  best  authorities,  should  be  ap- 
plied with  skill  and  discrimination.  These  are  by  no  means 
absolute  or  fixed ;  they  are  still  open  to  discussion,  and  in 
each  case  are  largely  matters  of  nice  judgment.  Still,  there 
is  some  law.  For  instance,  the  minimum  requirements  of 
detached,  of  semi-detached,  and  of  row  houses  in  which, 
for  this  purpose,  there  is  substantial  agreement,  determine 
largely  the  width  and  depth  of  lots ;  the  size  of  lots  deter- 
mines largely  the  size  of  blocks :  the  blocks  determine  the 
layout  of  the  neighborhood.  These,  in  turn,  react  upon 
street  widths,  playgrounds,  and  other  public  features.^ 

6.  An  increase  of  lots  or  residence  sites  by  new  land 

^  Sec  Report  of  Committee  on  City  Plan  Study,  National  Confer- 
ence on  City   Planning,   Chicago,  May,   1913. 


THE  SUBDIVISION  OF  LAND  41 

subdivisions,  and  of  the  necessary  streets,  should  be  ac- 
companied by  a  corrcspondinjT  increase  of  playgrounds, 
parks,  and  other  indispensable  public  features  required  by 
the  probable  population  of  the  area  when   fully  built  up. 


FiSHEK   Hii.i.,   Brooki.ixe,   Mass. 
A  residential  section   safe-guarded  by  restrictions  adopted  by  property 

owners 


The  best  time  to  make  these  reservations  of  puljlic  spaces  is 
when  the  land  is  subdivided.  The  cost  should  l)e  assessed 
in  accordance  with  the  l)enefit. 

7.     The  interests  of  the  real-estate  o])erator,  of  the  jiros- 
pccti\'e  owner  or  user,  and  of  the  q-enerrd  ])ublic.  shoidd  be 


42  CITY  PLANNING 

harmonized  as  far  as  possible.  In  most  cases,  this  is  not  so 
difficult  as  it  might  seem.  While  the  immediate  interests 
of  the  three  parties  are  not  identical,  they  are  not  in  the  long 
run  normally  in  conflict.  It  is  part  of  the  responsibility  of 
the  public,  acting  through  well-considered  and  equitable 
regulation  and  law,  to  remove  causes  of  conflict,  and  thus 
to  define  the  rights  and  duties  of  the  several  parties. 

8.  A  plan  for  dividing  land  must  consider  not  only  im- 
mediate use,  but  also  probable  subsequent  use,  administra- 
tion, and  maintenance,  and  must,  so  far  as  possible,  forecast 
and  provide  for  it.  This  may  be  done  in  part  by  the  plan 
itself,  and  in  part  by  binding  restrictions  and  conditions, 
providing  for  permanency,  or  it  may  anticipate  a  change  or 
conversion  into  a  different  use.  Opinions  of  designers  dif- 
fer as  to  which  is  more  desirable,  a  plan  that  makes  change 
difficult  or  one  that  makes  change  easy.  Here  again  it  is 
a  mistake  to  dogmatize.  One  thing  is  clear,  however,  even 
from  a  superficial  study  of  land  subdivision  in  its  relation 
to  housing,  namely,  that  the  worst  results  have  not  been  due 
usually  to  the  low  standard  or  the  lack  of  fitness  of  the  sub- 
division for  its  original  purpose,  but  to  its  lack  of  fitness  for 
the  purposes  to  which  there  was  afterwards  an  attempt  to 
adapt  it,  or  to  the  lack  of  public  regulation,  or  the  low  stand- 
ard which  the  city  permitted  to  be  applied.  Here,  we  be- 
lieve, public  regulation  and  control  would  be  of  great  benefit. 
Examples  from  almost  any  city  in  this  country  may  be  cited 
in  support  of  this  opinion. 

Summary 

The  conclusions  justified  by  this  discussion  of  the  sub- 
division of  land  as  affected  by  city  planning  may  be  briefly 
summarized  under  ten  heads  : 

I.  That  the  main  classes  of  subdivision  are  industrial, 
business,  and  residential. 


THE  SUBDIVISION  OF  LAND 


43 


2.  That  the  subdivision  of  residential  property  is  of  most 
importance,  because  of  its  greater  extent  and  its  more  vital 
relation  to  human  welfare. 


JS^iidTOjr 


STAGES  OF  DEVELOPMENT 

REILLE-Y  A  wfuLARD  5TS. 


A\     Il.l.rSTRATION'     I'-ROM     BRIDGEPORT,     CONX.,    OF    LacK     OF    PirnLIC 
RkCUI.ATION     AM)    Co.XTROI, 


3.     That,   while  city  i)laiining  can  do  much   to  improve 
housing  conditions,  there  would  still  remain  much  hcvond 


44  CITY  PLANNING 

the  field  of  city  planning,  upon  which  good  housing  would 
depend. 

4.  That  the  investigations  of  the  Committee  of  the  Na- 
tional Conference  on  City  Planning  would  seem  to  show 
that  shallow  lots,  say,  100  feet  or  less  in  depth,  are  most  sat- 
isfactory as  a  standard ;  that  the  width  tends  to  about  40 
feet;  that  lots  100  feet  in  depth  are  readily  convertible  from 
residential  to  business  use ;  that  alleys  are  undesirable ;  and 
that  wise  restrictions  upon  the  use  of  property  tend  to  in- 
crease land  values. 

5.  That  land  subdivision  ought  to  include  a  proper  con- 
sideration of  the  point  of  view  of  the  original  owner  or 
operator,  the  prospective  user,  either  as  owner  or  tenant, 
and  the  public. 

6.  That  the  law  regards  land  in  a  different  way  from 
other  private  property.  So  far  as  possible,  speculation  in 
land  should  be  diminished.^ 

7.  That  the  central  problem  of  land  subdivision  is  public 
regulation,  control,  and  restriction.  A  safe  and  sanitary 
house  should  be  possible  for  the  workingman. 

8.  That  the  technical  problems  in  the  laying  out  of  land 
demand  more  and  more  the  employment  of  technical  skill 
and  experience  in  their  solution. 

9.  That  the  underlying  principles  usually  followed  in  a 
skillful  land  subdivision,  and  generally  accepted  as  sound, 
should  have  more  publicity  and  wider  application. 

10.  That  the  investigation  and  study  of  land  subdivision 
in  connection  with  city  planning,  and  the  collection  of  re- 
liable data  and  well-digested  opinion,  will  bring  great  bene- 
fits— physical,  financial,  and  sociological — in  the  land  subdi- 
vision of  the  future. 

'^  See  Rcinhard  Pjaumeister  :  "Bauordnung  und  Wohnungsf  rage." 
This  is  an  exceedingly  valuable  paper. 


THE  SUBDIVISION  OF  LAND  45 


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Aronovici,  Carol.  Constructive  Housing  Reform.  National 
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Atkinson,  William.  The  Orientation  of  Buildings  or  Plan- 
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Baumeister,  Reinhard.  Bauordnung  und  Wohnungsfrage. 
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Crawford,  A.  W.  The  Interrelation  of  Housing  and  City 
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46  CITY  PLANNING 

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Dublin,  1914,  42  pp. 

Ford,  James.  The  Housing  Problem.  Harvard  University, 
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.  Some  Fundamentals  of  Housing  Reform.  The  Ameri- 
can City,  May,  191 3. 

George,  Henry.  Progress  and  Poverty.  Doubleday,  Page  & 
Co. 

Goodyear  Tire  and  Rubber  Company.  Goodyear  Heights,  Ak- 
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Haldeman,  B.  a.  Control  of  Municipal  Development  by  the 
Zone  System  and  Its  Application  in  the  United  States. 
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XVII  and  XVIII.     Chas.  Scribner's  Sons,  1909. 

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Ihlder,  John.  What  Good  Housing  Means.  American  Jour- 
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THE  SUBDIVISION  OF  LAND  47 

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CHAPTER    III 

PUBLIC    CONTROL    OF    PRIVATE    REAL    ESTATE 
Eminent  Domain  and  Police  Power 

The  physical  characteristics  of  a  city  depend  upon  the  use 
made  of  the  land  within  its  Hmits.  City  planning  is  the  con- 
trol and  guidance  of  this  use.  This  control  and  guidance 
the  city  exercises  in  two  ways:  (i)  By  taking  the  land  or 
an  interest  in  it,  thus  making  it  public  property.  (2)  By 
regulating  it  without  taking,  thus  leaving  it  wholly  in  private 
ownership. 

In  the  construction  of  its  streets,  parks,  and  other  public 
features,  the  city  must  have  a  property  interest  in  the  land  to 
be  used  for  that  purpose.  The  land  which  the  city  holds  is 
already  devoted,  as  a  general  thing,  to  some  specific  public 
use.  The  city  in  its  growth  is,  therefore,  constantly  in  need 
of  additional  land,  and  must,  as  a  rule,  acquire  it  from 
private  owners. 

In  so  far  as  the  city  is  able  to  obtain  the  land  it  needs  by 
voluntary  agreement  with  the  owner,  the  acquisition  of  land 
for  city  planning  purposes  involver  no  restrictions  upon 
private  property  rights.  In  some  systems  of  government 
this  power  of  obtaining  land  by  private  sale  is  the  extent 
of  the  city's  right.  In  Menna,  for  instance,  the  city  cannot 
construct  a  new  street  or  widen  an  old  one,  vmless  the  owner 
of  the  necessary  land  is  willing  to  sell  it  and  the  city  is  ready 
to  give  the  price  he  asks.  Rut  A'ienna  and  other  cities  so 
limited  in  their  right  to  acquire  land  feel  that  they  are  denied 
pow'ers  necessary  for  their  development,  and  in  most  cases 

48 


PUBLIC  CONTROL  49 

are  trying  to  amend  their  laws  in  this  respect.  In  ahnost 
all  civilized  countries,  cities  already  have  the  power  to  take 
land  for  public  use  without  the  consent  of  the  owner. 

The  right  of  "condemnation,"  as  involuntary  taking  is 
sometimes  called,  is  in  all  civilized  countries  coupled  with 
the  obligation  to  make  reasonable  compensation.  Neverthe- 
less, the  liability  to  condemnation  is  a  real  restriction  upon 
private  property.  The  owner  has  often  an  attachment  for 
his  home  which  the  city  wants  as  a  site  for  a  schoolhouse; 
the  business  man  has  his  own  plans  for  that  extra  twenty 
feet  near  his  factory.  They  do  not  7vant  to  sell  at  a  fair 
price.  This  public  right  of  condemnation,  viewed  from  the 
standpoint  of  a  limitation  upon  private  rights,  will  be  the 
first  of  the  restrictions  upon  private  property  to  be  consid- 
ered in  this  chapter. 

The  planning  of  the  public  features  of  a  city  is  really  the 
smaller  part  of  the  city  planner's  task.  The  attainment  of 
his  complete  aim  is  to  put  to  its  best  use  all  the  land  in  the 
city,  whether  it  is  privately  or  publicly  owned. 

In  the  development  of  its  public  features,  the  city  greatly 
affects  private  property.  We  have  already  seen,  as  one  illus- 
tration of  this  among  many,  how  the  street  system  practi- 
cally determines  land  subdivision  and  materially  influences 
the  use  made  by  the  owner  of  all  privately  owned  land  in  the 
city.^  In  the  construction  of  these  public  features  the  city 
is  not  legally  restricting  private  rights,  but  is  acting  as  a 
private  owner  of  an  extensive  property  might  do  in  similar 
circumstances.  It  is  the  privately  laid  out  street  system  and 
other  features  public  in  character  of  Hampstead  Gardens, 
near  London,  and  Forest  Hills,  in  New  York,  that  make 
these  places  as  a  whole  much  more  admirable  than  the  cities 
of  wiiich  they  are  suburbs. 

But  this  influence  of  public  on  private  development,  great 
as  it  is,  has  been  found  to  be  insufficient.     Cities  the  world 

'Sec  Chap.  II. 


50  CITY  PLANNING 

over  have  become  congested,  and  ordinances  limiting  the 
height  and  area  of  buildings  have  been  found  necessary; 
they  have  become  confused,  and  ordinances  controlling  the 
location  of  factories  so  as  not  to  interfere  with  residences 
have  become  expedient.  Thus  in  direct  ways  cities  are  be- 
ginning to  regulate  the  use  of  private  land.  Regulation  of 
private  property  is  the  second  class  of  restriction  upon  pri- 
vate ownership  to  be  considered  in  this  chapter. 

Many  people  have  the  feeling  that  they  have  or  ought  to 
have  an  absolute  right  in  their  own  property ;  and  that  all 
such  public  rights  as  that  of  condemnation  or  regulation  are 
infringements  on  their  proprietorship.  No  such  absolute 
rights  exist  at  present  or  ever  have  existed  in  any  country. 
The  government  or  "State" — to  use  the  language  of  juris- 
prudence— has  always  exercised  a  paramount  right  in  the 
property  of  its  citizens ;  and  today  the  State  may  take  not 
only  their  belongings  but  their  lives  if  the  need  is  sufificient. 
This  is  as  true  in  the  United  States  as  in  other  countries. 
In  the  sixties  we  requisitioned  private  property  and  passed 
conscription  laws.  Nor  are  these  merely  war  rights.  In 
time  of  peril  by  fire,  flood,  or  earthquake,  the  State  here,  as 
everywhere  else,  has  the  same  powers ;  and  the  reason  why 
less  may  be  taken  in  ordinary  times  is  that  the  exercise  of 
this  paramount  right  must,  like  any  other,  be  in  accordance 
with  the  need  ;  and  in  normal  times  the  need  is  less. 

In  this  country,  ever  since  its  foundation,  citizens  have 
been  guaranteed  certain  rights  regarded  as  fundamental. 
These  guaranties  are  often  called  "Bills  of  Rights"  and  are 
contained  in  our  written  constitutions.  Neither  the  United 
States  nor  any  state  can  pass  a  statute,  or  perform  or  au- 
thorize any  act,  infringing  ujion  these  rights.  Under  these 
guaranties  the  ])ropcrty  owner  is  protected  against  any  con- 
demnation except  for  a  public  ])urposc  and  upon  payment  of 
due  compensation. 

The  idea  is  rather  geiicrally  prevalent  that  it  is  only  here 


PUBLIC  CONTROL  51 

in  the  United  States,  or  peculiarly  here,  that  the  individual 
is  protected  in  his  private  property  rights.  This  feeling  has 
very  little  foundation.  The  principles  of  law  contained  in 
our  constitutional  guaranties' of  private  property  prevail  in 
all  civilized  countries.  In  some  of  them,  like  England,  this 
protection  is  not  contained  in  a  written  constitution,  but  is 
based  upon  the  all-sufficient  force  of  public  opinion ;  in  some 
countries,  like  Germany,  this  protection  is  not  based  upon 
the  action  of  the  courts  to  the  extent  it  is  with  us,  but  more 
on  the  knowledge  and  fairness  of  administrative  bodies.  In 
all  foreign  countries,  too,  legislatures  are  trusted  more  and 
courts  less  than  with  us.  The  differences  between  these 
countries  and  ours  have  been  exaggerated,  but  are  material, 
nevertheless.  These  differences  in  the  protection  afforded 
private  property  are  not,  however,  the  result  of  formal  dif- 
ferences in  legal  systems,  but  of  different  conceptions  of 
matters  of  fundamental  importance  such  as,  in  the  field  of 
city  planning :  first,  the  question  of  what  constitutes  a  public 
use,  and,  therefore,  what  are  the  purposes  for  which  prop- 
erty may  be  taken  ;  secondly,  what  is  the  taking  of  a  property 
right,  and  what  a  mere  regulation  or  adjustment  of  rights 
between  property  owners.  These  questions  are  by  no  means 
simple,  and  have  given  us  no  little  trouble  in  this  country. 
Illustrations  of  our  difficulties  and  the  differences  between 
the  point  of  view  in  other  countries  and  ours  will  appear  in 
the  consideration  of  the  specific  city  planning  restrictions  on 
private  property  later  on.  The  meaning  of  fundamental 
conceptions  like  these  varies  with  the  age,  with  the  country, 
and  with  the  circumstances  and  conditions  in  the  same  age 
and  country.  Irrigation,  for  instance,  is  a  public  purpose  in  a 
dry  western  state  in  this  country,  but  not  in  an  eastern  state. ^ 
The  reason  why  the  state  has  the  power  to  take  land  by 
eminent  domain  for  a  public  use,  and  no  other,  is  simple 

M^cwis :    "Eminent  Domain,"  3d  ed.,  Sec.  30S;  Clark  v.  Nash,  198 

U.  S.  361  (1905). 


52  CITY  PLANNING 

and  sensible.  The  state  exists  for  a  purpose — that  of  serv- 
ing its  citizens.  In  the  taking  of  property,  as  in  all  its  other 
doings,  it  must  act  for  the  purpose  for  which  it  exists.  Evi- 
dently no  taking  can  be  for  the  public  unless  it  is  for  a  pur- 
pose useful  to  the  public. 

When  we  come  to  apply  this  principle,  we  encounter  diffi- 
culties. Is  the  use  of  land  by  the  municipality  for  working- 
men's  cottages,  or  for  resale  in  order  to  keep  the  price  of 
land,  and  therefore  rents,  low,  a  public  use?  In  Germany, 
these  are  public  purposes ;  in  this  country  they  are  not ;  for, 
according  to  the  decisions  of  our  courts,  they  are  businesses 
into  which  government  should  not  enter.  But  a  municipality 
may  produce  and  sell  gas  or  electricity  and  condemn  prop- 
erty for  the  purpose.  Thus  theories  as  to  the  legitimate 
field  of  governmental  action  enter  into  the  question  of  the 
usefulness  to  the  public  of  a  given  course  of  governmental 
procedure  ;  and  it  is  not  strange  that  the  answer  in  Germany, 
with  its  befief  that  governmental  action  should  have  a  broad 
scope,  should  in  many  of  these  questions  be  different  from 
that  of  a  more  individualistic  people  like  ours. 

The  state  is  not  obliged  to  take  all  the  rights  in  a  given 
piece  of  land  necessary  for  some  public  use.  It  may,  it  is 
true,  take  all  these  rights,  and  dispose  of  those  which  it  does 
not  need.  It  may  also  take  only  the  necessary  rights,  leaving 
the  rest  vested  in  the  private  owner.^  Thus,  in  some  cities, 
the  entire  title  to  land  needed  for  streets  is  condemned ;  in 
others,  the  easement  of  using  the  land  for  a  street  is  all  that 
is  taken.  In  the  one  case  the  abutter  and  former  owner  may 
be  compelled  to  pay  rent  to  the  city  if  allowed  to  build  vaults 
under  the  streets  in  places  not  needed  for  sewers  and  other 
public  utilities ;  in  the  other  case,  no  such  rent  can  be  col- 
lected, for  this  is  a  use  of  land  by  the  owner. - 

^  Lewis  :     "Eminent  Domain,"  3d  ed..  Sec.  448. 
'Dcshoiig  V.  City  of  New  York.   176  N.   Y.  475    (1903);  Lewis: 
"Eminent  Domain,"  3d  ed.,  Sec.  852,  p.   1488. 


PUBLIC  CONTROL  53 

The  distinction  between  the  taking  of  property  which  must 
be  paid  for,  and  the  regulation  of  it,  which  need  not  be  paid 
for,  is  also  in  general  outline  simple  and  sensible.  It  is  only 
in  border-line  cases,  and  in  cases  where  theories  as  to  the 
legitimate  sphere  of  governmental  action  enter,  that  diffi- 
culties arise. 

Government  has  two  functions :  the  main  function  of 
regulating  and  adjusting  the  actions  and  property  interests 
of  its  inhabitants  in  their  relations  one  with  another  and 
with  outsiders,  and  the  incidental  function  of  holding  prop- 
erty for  the  execution  of  its  main  function.  The  United 
States  or  an  individual  state  passes  and  enforces  laws 
against  murder,  and  also  owns  its  capitol  building  and 
grounds  ;  a  city  passes  and  enforces  an  ordinance  for  the  dis- 
position by  its  residents  of  their  garbage,  and  owns  the 
garbage  wagons  and  the  incinerator,  with  its  appurtenant 
land,  for  the  destruction  of  that  garbage.  The  distinction 
between  the  action  of  the  city  in  taking  private  land  upon 
which  to  build  the  incinerator  and  in  compelling  a  resident  to 
use  separate  receptacles  for  ashes  and  garbage  is  clear.  In 
the  one  case  property  is  taken ;  in  the  other  it  is  not ;  the 
first  is  a  case  of  eminent  domain,  the  second  of  "police 
power" — as  the  power  of  regulation  is  called. 

But  there  are  cases  where  the  owner  of  land  is  deprived 
of  actual  rights  of  profit  to  him  that  are,  nevertheless,  cases 
of  regulation  or  exercise  of  the  police  power.  For  instance, 
an  owner  may  be  forbidden  to  rent  or  occupy  a  tenement 
unfit  for  human  occupation,  although,  but  for  the  prohibi- 
tion, he  could  easily  rent  it  at  a  profit.  Evidently  the  dis- 
tinction between  eminent  domain  and  police  power  does  not 
rest  altogether  on  what  is  and  what  is  not  a  taking  of  prop- 
erty rights,  but  also,  in  many  cases,  upon  theories  as  to  what 
governments  should  and  should  not  take  without  payment. 
The  use  of  a  tenement  unfit  for  occupation  is  a  menace  to 
health  ;  and  the  preservation  of  the  public  health,  safety,  and 


54  CITY  PLANNING 

morals  is  a  sufficient  reason  for  the  exercise  of  police  power. 

Let  us  take  another  illustration.  City  ordinances  are 
common  requiring  all  houses  in  certain  designated  streets 
to  set  back  a  given  distance  from  the  street.  This  is  called 
"establishing  a  building  line."  If  the  streets  are  wisely 
chosen  and  the  depth  of  lawn  required  is  not  too  great,  such 
an  ordinance  adds  to  the  comfort  and  beauty  of  the  street 
and  increases  land  values.  It  is  constitutional  in  this  country 
to  pass,  under  the  police  power,  measures  designed  to  pro- 
mote the  public  comfort  and  general  prosperity,  and  appro- 
priate to  that  purpose.^  Our  courts,  however,  have  decided 
in  building  line  cases  that  each  landowner  is  entitled  to  such 
damage  as  he  may  have  suffered  over  and  above  his  benefits 
— which  generally  turn  out  to  be  nothing — on  the  ground 
that  he  is  deprived  of  the  right  to  build  upon  a  part  of  his 
land.^     In  Germany  no  compensation  is  due.^ 

A  much-discussed  class  of  cases  on  the  border  line  be- 
tween eminent  domain  and  the  police  power  is  that  of  regu- 
lations for  the  improvement  of  the  appearance,  or  the  pre- 
vention of  the  disfigurement,  of  our  cities.  Such  regulations 
may  well  involve  the  taking  of  property  rights  of  value. 
Billboards  are  often  ugly  and  valuable.  But,  as  we  have 
seen,  in  some  cases  there  is  really  a  taking  under  the  police 
power.  A  nuisance  to  the  nose  or  the  ear  is  often  an  in- 
stance of  such  a  taking.  Such  a  nuisance  is  suppressed, 
although  often  of  value  to  the  owner.  Why  not  a  nuisance 
to  the  eye  ?  Perhaps  for  the  same  reason  that  an  offense  to 
the  eye  is  not  legally  as  yet  a  nuisance ;  because  it  is  not 

^  Report  of  Heights  of  Buildings  Commission,  New  York  City 
(1913),  p.  8,  and  cases  there  cited. 

"  Lewis :     "Eminent  Domain,"  3d  ed..  Sec.  227. 

^Prussia:  Baufluchtliniengesetz  vom  2  Juli,  1875,  ed.  by  Dr. 
Walter  Saran;  Berlin:  Carl  Heymann's  Verlag  (191 1)  Sec.  i.  13; 
Saxony:  Allgemeines  Baugesetz  vom  i  July,  lyoo,  20  Mai,  1904,  Sec. 
16.  ed.  by  Dr.  A.  Rumpelt,  Leipzig,  Rossl)erg'sche  BuchhandUing 
(1911)  ;  Other  German  States:  The  law  is  the  same. 


PUBLIC  CONTROL  55 

sufficiently  an  offense  to  the  average  citizen,  or  has  not  been 
such  long  enough  for  him  to  convince  judges  and  courts  of 
the  fact. 

ESTARLISIIMENT    OF    CiTY    PlAN 

Having  finished  our  consideration  of  some  of  the  prin- 
ciples underlying  all  city-planning  restriction  of  private 
property,  let  us  now  take  up,  step  by  step,  the  planning  of 
the  city  in  the  light  of  these  principles. 

A  most  essential  step  in  the  planning  of  a  city  is  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  plan  on  such  a  basis  of  law  that  it  cannot 
with  impunity  be  violated  or  departed  from.  This  step 
should  be  taken  as  soon  as  the  plan  has  been  formulated, 
without  waiting  for  any  of  it  to  be  carried  out.  Wise  plan- 
ning anticipates  present  needs  by  many  years,  in  order  that 
present  construction  may  conform  to  and  aid  proper  future 
development.  Wise  planning  covers  the  whole  city  in  order 
that  it  may  be  planned  as  a  unit.  Present  construction  exe- 
cutes only  such  parts  of  the  plan  as  immediate  need  de- 
mands, and  financial  ability  permits.  Even  the  acquisition 
to  any  extent  of  the  land  needed  in  the  future  seems  diffi- 
cult and  often  impossible.  Thus,  the  plan  is  a  pattern  to  be 
filled  in  from  time  to  time,  and  unless  at  the  outset  the  city 
has  some  method  of  making  a  general  adherence  to  the  en- 
tire plan  binding  upon  landowners,  it  is  sure  to  fail  of 
realization. 

Some  foreign  countries  have  solved  in  different  degrees 
this  difficult  legal  problem.  In  Germany,  for  instance,  after 
any  part  of  the  city  plan  has  been  adopted,  any  person  mak- 
ing improvements  on  his  own  land  within  the  limits  of 
future  streets  appearing  on  the  ])lan,  or  that  part  of  the  plan 
adopted,  is  not  entitled  to  damages  for  the  demolition  of  the 
inij)rovcmcnts ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  if  these  improvements 
render  street  construction  more  expensive,  he  must  reim- 


56  CITY  PLANNING 

burse  the  city.  No  compensation  is  made  the  landowner  for 
subjecting  his  land  to  the  city  plan.^ 

City  builders  in  this  country  have  felt  the  importance  of 
establishing  the  city  plan,  and  have  endeavored  to  do  so ;  but 
our  courts,  after  some  vacillation,  have  declared  that  it 
cannot  be  done  under  the  police  power,  and  without  com- 
pensation, as  in  Germany  and  other  foreign  countries,  but 
that  compensation  must  be  made.- 

Evidently,  by  imposing  a  plan  upon  the  land  of  a  private 
owner,  he  is  deprived  of  rights  in  his  land ;  but  the  land  in 
the  tract  planned  cannot  become  building  lots  without 
streets ;  nor  does  the  planning  so  much  deprive  an  owner  of 
any  right  to  build  as  tell  him  where  to  build  on  a  tract  that 
must  be  used  partly  for  streets  in  any  event.  Here  again 
our  law  is  more  individualistic  than  foreign  law ;  here,  too, 
we  are  less  trustful  of  the  fairness  and  ability  of  city  offi- 
cials. Improper,  unfair  planning  or  planning  unduly  de- 
layed in  execution  might,  indeed,  work  injustice  and  loss 
instead  of  gain.  Nevertheless,  the  imperative  necessity  of 
discovering  and  introducing  a  method  of  establishing  a  city 
plan  remains  a  most  urgent  task  for  the  city  planner  of 
today. 

Some  of  the  advantages  to  be  gained  by  means  of  a  city 
plan  made  legally  binding  upon  private  landowners,  we  in 
this  country  are  trying  to  gain  by  other  methods. 

One  such  method  is  the  provision  for  an  official  city  plan, 
binding  upon  the  city  and  its  officers  until  officially  changed. 
Excellent  as  this  is,  it  does  not  protect  the  plan  from  the  en- 
croachments and  attacks  of  private  interests.     The  records 

'^F^riissia:  I'aufiuchtlinicngesetz.  cited  above.  Sec.  13;  Jl'iirton- 
bcrg:  I'auor'.lnuntc  vom  28  Juli.  1910,  art.  14,  cd.  by  W.  Iliiffner, 
'I'ubingen,  A.  and  S.  Weil  (1912)  ;  Other  German  States:  The  law 
is  the  same. 

^  The  law  is  to  this  effect  everywhere  in  the  United  States,  where 
the  question  has  arisen,  except  in  Pennsylvania.  Lewis :  "Eminent 
Domain,""  3cl  ed.,  Sec.  226. 


PUBLIC  CONTROL  57 

of  the  planning  departments  of  many  of  our  cities  show 
how  often  private  improvements  have  compelled  the  city  to 
modify  or  abandon  important  features  of  their  official  plans. 

Another  method  is  the  provision,  now  quite  common,  re- 
quiring plans  of  private  streets  to  he  submitted  for  api)roval 
to  some  city  authority  before  they  are  accci)ted  by  the  city 
as  public  streets.  The  authority  whose  apjM'oval  is  required 
is  usually  a  person  or  a  body  such  as  the  city  surveyor,  or 
the  city  planning  commission,  supposed  to  be  able  to  pass 
upon  the  streets  from  the  city-planning  point  of  view.  Such 
a  law  does  not  in  any  way  limit  the  legal  rights  of  the  land- 
owner or  increase  those  of  the  city.  The  owner  is  still  free 
to  lay  out  streets  on  his  land  and  sell  house  lots  or  build 
houses  on  the  street  as  he  pleases.  The  law  does  not  add  in 
any  way  to  the  power  of  the  city  to  reject  the  street  for  any 
reason  that  seems  good  to  it.  The  landowner  has  never  had 
the  legal  right  to  compel  the  city  to  accept  any  street  as  a 
public  street.  The  object  of  the  statute  is  to  induce  the  land- 
owner to  consult  the  city  before  laying  out  the  street,  hop- 
ing thereby  to  induce  him  to  lay  it  out  in  conformity  to  the 
city  plan,  for  fear  that  otherwise  it  may  be  rejected  by  the 
city.  The  trouble  is  that  the  landowner  is  not  afraid.  All 
too  often,  in  fact,  in  spite  of  the  regulation,  he  lays  out  his 
streets  as  he  pleases,  and  sells  lots  to  innocent  purchasers 
upon  which  they  build  their  houses,  only  to  find  out  that  it 
is  incumbent  upon  them  to  have  the  streets  accc})te(l. 

The  method  outlined  above  has  in  practice  proved  less 
efifective  than  the  foreign  method.  The  city  usually  finds 
itself  practically  unable  to  refuse  to  accept  streets  upon 
which  so  much  has  been  spent,  and  unwilling  to  allow  tlicm 
to  remain  under  private  control.  At  best,  the  protection  of 
the  city  by  such  a  method  could  only  l)e  jiartial.  The  city 
plan  may  be  infringed  upon  in  many  other  ways  than  that 
of  speculative  housing  develo])ment.  b^or  instance,  sucli 
legislation  does  not  jirevent  the  building  of  large  factories 


58  CITY  PLANNING 

directly  across  important  projected  streets,  or  help  to  secure 
to  the  city  a  desired  site  for  a  public  building  or  a  much- 
needed  park. 

Excess  Condemnation 

After  making  the  city  plan  and  protecting  it  so  far  as 
possible  from  attack  by  private  interests,  and  before  con- 
struction of  its  public  features  can  be  begun,  land  must  be 
acquired  for  the  purpose.  We  have  already  seen  that  land 
can  be  condemned  only  for  a  public  use.^  It  follows  that 
land  only  in  an  amount  sufficient  for  that  use  can  be  so 
taken ;  for  only  that  amount  would  be  useful  for  that 
purpose. 

Thus,  if  land  outside  the  physical  limits  of  the  principal 
improvement  is  taken  for  purposes  claimed  to  be  incidental 
to  and  thus  a  part  of  it,  the  question  arises  whether  they  are 
really  incidental.  The  taking  of  land  in  this  way,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  amount  needed  for  the  primary  purpose,  has  been 
called,  somewhat  unfortunately,  "excess  condemnation." 

Let  us  take  as  an  illustration  the  laying  out  of  a  new 
street  and  the  possible  taking  of  land  on  each  side  of  it, 
outside  the  proposed  street  lines.  For  what  reasons  would 
the  city  planner  wish  to  take  this  "extra  land  ?  Would  such 
taking  be  so  related  to  the  construction  of  the  street  as  to  be 
a  taking  for  street  use?  If  so,  this  land  may  be  taken  by 
eminent  domain. 

Excess  condemnation  is  most  often  urged  either  in  case 
of  a  new  business  street  cut,  or  an  old  one  widened,  through 
a  low-class  development  in  the  center  of  the  city ;  or  of  a 
boulevard  in  the  outskirts  through  unimproved  land.  In 
either  case  one  or  more  of  three  effects  may  be  expected : 

First,  the  adjacent  land  may  be  raised  in  value.  May 
not,  in  this  event,  the  building  of  the  street  and  the  taking 
'  Scr  p.  50. 


PUBLIC  CONTROL  59 

of  the  extra  land  to  sell  again  in  order  to  help  pay  for  the 
street  be  regarded  as  one  business  enterprise?  The  courts 
of  this  country  are  inclined  to  think  not.  It  has  been  de- 
cided that  the  extra  taking  and  resale  are  a  separate  real- 
estate  transaction,  and  therefore  not  a  taking  for  a  public 
use.^ 

Secondly,  the  cutting  of  the  new  street  may  leave  rem- 
nants of  lots  on  each  side  of  it  not  large  enough  for  inde- 
pendent improvement,  which  shut  off  the  land  immediately 
back  of  them  from  the  street,  and  prevent  the  possibility 
of  improvement  in  connection  with  the  street.  If  building 
on  the  street  be  delayed  until  private  initiative  unites  land 
ownership  in  these  cases,  the  delay  will  be  a  long  one.  The 
result  will  be  that  the  city  will  lose  much  in  taxes,  and  the 
new  street,  by  reason  of  its  ugly  appearance  for  so  many 
years,  be  given  perhaps  a  character  that  will  permanently 
impair  its  usefulness  and  lower  values  on  it.  On  this  second 
ground  the  courts  seem  inclined  to  uphold  excess  condem- 
nation.- 

A  third  effect  may  be  that  the  use  of  the  adjacent  land, 
even  if  not  cut  into  remnants,  may  lessen  the  usefulness  of 
the  principal  improvement.  A  boulevard  with  cheap  houses 
bordering  it  is  no  longer  the  beautiful  boulevard  that  the 
city  spent  its  money  to  create ;  a  view  which  the  boulevard 
was  planned  to  exhibit  to  those  using  it  may  be  spoiled  by 
a  solid  row  of  tall  buildings,  or  by  buildings  at  wrong  points. 
If  the  adjacent  land  were  taken  wherever  necessary  and 
resold  with  covenants  against  such  uses  of  it,  it  would  seem 
as  if,  without  question,  the  boulevard  were  improved  for 
the   purposes   for   which   it   was   liuill.''     A   court  decision 

^  Opiiiiiin  of  Justices,  204  Mass.  607   (1910).- 

•Opinion  of  Justices,  204  Mass.  616  (igio). 

^  This  would  in  some  cases  l)e  an  esthetic  gain.  l)ut  eminent  domain, 
unlike  the  police  power,  may  he  used  for  such  a  purpose.  Sec  p. 
Or, 


6o  CITY  PLANNING 

recently  rendered  holds  that  taking  for  such  a  purpose  is 
not  constitutional ;  ^  but  it  is  too  early  to  decide  whether  the 
decision  will  be  generally  followed  in  other  states,  and  by 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States.  Indeed,  the  en- 
tire law  on  the  subject  of  excess  condemnation  in  this  coun- 
try must  be  regarded  as  still  unsettled.^ 

So  far,  we  have  been  discussing  excess  condemnation  in 
connection  with  the  construction  of  highways.  It  may 
equally  well  be  used  in  connection  with  other  public  works. 
The  construction  of  a  new  public  building  of  any  pretension 
tends  to  raise  the  neighboring  land  values.  It  is  also  im- 
portant, in  order  that  its  esthetic  effect  may  not  be  injured, 
to  control  the  development  of  neighboring  real  estate.^  Ex- 
cess condemnation  may  be  useful  in  the  same  ways  in  con- 
nection with  the  laying  out  of  new  parks. 

We  have  seen  that  by  excess  condemnation  the  city  may 
take  the  entire  title  of  land  adjacent  to  an  improvement  and 
resell  it,  retaining  only  certain  rights  or  easements  in  it. 
This  is  an  indirect  way  of  doing  what  may  be  done  directly. 
The  city  may  without  question  take,  by  making  due  pay- 
ment, the  easement  it  needs,  leaving  all  the  other  rights 
undisturbed  in  the  original  owner.    Thus,  the  city  may  con- 

^  Pennsylvania  Mutual  Life  Insurance  Co.  v.  Philadelphia.  242 
Pcnn.  State  47  (1913).     See,  however,  Bond  v.  Baltimore,  116  Md. 

683    (1911). 

"  7  o  end  these  uncertainties,  several  states  have  passed  constitu- 
tional amendments.  For  references,  see  ShurtlefF  and  Olmsted : 
"Carrying  Out  the  City  Plan,"  Survey  Associates,  Inc.,  New  York 
(1914),  p.  278.  One  of  the  clauses  raising  these  doubts  appears  also 
in  the  United  States  Constitution.  The  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States  has  generally  l)een  more  liberal  in  its  interpretation 
of  such  questions  than  the  state  ct)urts.  1"hc  uncertainty,  therefore, 
still  remains  in  the  states  which  iiave  amended  tlieir  constitutions. 

^  The  l)est-known  examples  of  such  control  in  the  United  States 
are  in  Boston.  See  Report  of  Heights  of  Buildings  Commission, 
New  York  City  (1Q13),  p.  140. 


PUBLIC  CONTROL  6i 

(lemn  the  right  to  tunnel  for  subway  purposes  under  real 
estate ;  *  or  control  the  architecture  of  private  buildings  near 
a  public  building,  so  that  the  appearance  of  the  public  build- 
ing may  not  be  injured."  The  only  condition  in  this,  as  in 
all  cases  of  eminent  domain,  is  that  the  taking  be  for  a  pub- 
lic use. 

Whatever  doubt  there  may  be  of  the  advantage  and 
legality  of  excess  condemnation  on  other  grounds,  as  a 
remedy  for  the  disadvantages  of  remnants  there  can  be 
none.  There  has  as  yet  been  no  complete,  honest  analysis  of 
the  financial  results  of  excess  acquisition.  There  is  reason 
to  believe  that  they  are  less  brilliant  than  advocates  have 
led  us  to  suppose.''  In  any  event,  there  are  other  methods 
of  appropriating  any  unearned  gain  to  neighboring  land, 
such  as,  for  instance,  some  form  of  "unearned  increment'' 
tax.  The  easements  in  neighboring  land  necessary  to  pro- 
tect the  princij)al  im])rovement  may,  as  we  have  just  seen, 
be  obtained  by  the  city  by  direct  condemnation.  The  evil  of 
the  remnant  can  be  cured  by  excess  condemnation  alone. 


Condemnation   for  General  Public  Purpose 

In  referring  to  the  necessity  of  condemning  i)roperty  for 
a  public  use,  we  have  treated  the  question  as  if  the  use  must 
be  one  known  and  stated  at  the  time  of  the  taking.  Such 
seems  to  be  the  universal  practice  in  this  country.  There 
would  be  a  certain  advantage  to  the  city,  however,  in  taking 
a  sui)])ly  of  land  in  advance,  sufficient  and  suitable  for  any 

'Mass.  Acts,  IQ02,  Ch.  534,  Sec.  6;  Boston  v.  Talbot,  206  Mass. 
p.  Sj    (  i(>io). 

'.Sec,  s^ciuTaUy,  Keport  of  lloi.t^lits  of  lUiildiiiLis  Coinmission,  p. 
140. 

■' .SV('  .Mass.  Ilousc  Documents  Nos.  2<S8,  ickj()  (r(X)4);  and  Her- 
bert S.  Swan:  "Ivxcess  Condemnation, "a  Kepc^rt  of  the  ConimittCC 
un    la.xalion,  Xew  \'()rk  Cit\-,   191.S. 


62  CITY  PLANNING 

of  the  public  uses  of  a  growing  city.  The  city  cannot  well 
decide  in  advance  whether  a  given  tract  in  a  part  of  the  city 
not  yet  built  will  be  useful  for  a  school  or  an  engine-house 
or  a  small  open  square ;  but  may  well  be  certain  that  land 
for  some  purpose  will  be  needed,  and  that  it  can  be  selected 
more  advantageously  and  bought  more  cheaply  in  advance. 
The  city  also  may  often  shape  its  planning  to  suit  land  that 
it  has  thus  bought.  The  land  until  needed  could  be  rented, 
often  on  very  long  leases,  thus  paying  carrying  charges.^ 

Financial  Restrictions 

The  laying  out  and  construction  of  streets  and  other  pub- 
lic features  of  the  city,  and  the  raising  of  money  to  pay  for 
them,  are  treated  in  other  chapters  of  this  work.'-  The 
landowner  is  especially  interested  in  the  financial  side  of 
these  matters.  These  improvements  are  partly  paid  for  out 
of  taxation  and  the  proceeds  of  bond  issues.  The  value  of 
land  is  materially  affected  by  the  tax  rate,  and  the  amount 
of  indebtedness  of  the  city,  the  county,  and  the  state.  Usu- 
ally a  part,  at  least,  of  the  cost  of  streets  and  other  im- 
provements is  charged  to  the  land  in  its  neighborhood,  on 
the  ground  that  this  land  is  especially  benefited.''^  This  is  a 
matter  which  differs  widely  in  different  states  and  coun- 
tries, and  is  also  of  vital  importance  to  landowners ;  but 
being  treated  elsewhere,  need  not  be  taken  up  here. 

Replanning 

In  the  planning  of  a  city,  changes  in  the  parts  already 
planned  are  sometimes  necessary.     The  most  common  of 

^  Sec  "Carrying  Out  the  City  Plan,"  op.  cit.,  p.  13.  The  sugges- 
tion witli  regard  to  renting  is  tliat  of  Jhjn.  J.  J.  Murpliy,  Tenement 
House  Commissioner    New  York  City. 

'Sec  Chap.  XVII. 

'Sec  Chap.  VIII. 


PUBLIC  CONTROL  63 

these  changes  are  street  widening,  the  changed  use  of 
streets,  and  the  renovation  of  slums. 

A  street  is  usually  widened  hy  condemning,  hy  methods 
already  descrihed,^  a  strip  of  private  property  on  one  or 
hoth  sides  of  it.  This  is  almost  invariahly  very  expensive ; 
for  where  street  widening  is  necessary,  values  are  likely  to 
he  high,  and  the  land  already  covered  with  expensive  build- 
ings. There  is  one  method  of  street  widening  which  avoids 
much  of  the  expense  of  taking  and  tearing  down  buildings 
— that  of  the  use  of  the  building  line,  already  mentioned  in 
another  connection.-  In  order  eventually  to  widen  the 
street,  the  building  line  is  established  back  of  the  fagades 
of  the  buildings  on  the  street.  Thereafter,  the  owner  of  a 
building,  any  part  of  which  is  in  front  of  the  building  line, 
may  use  it  as  before,  but  cannot  reconstruct,  alter,  or  sub- 
stantially repair  that  part  of  it.  He  may,  however,  make 
minor  repairs  and  changes.  This  method  is  in  use  abroad 
and  to  some  extent  in  this  country. 

The  establishment  of  the  building  line  does  not  deprive 
the  owner  of  the  building  of  his  title  to  any  part  of  it,  but 
only  of  the  right  to  alter,  reconstruct,  or  substantially  repair 
a  part  of  it.  This  right  the  city  must  of  course  pay  for ;  but 
the  payment  will  be  relatively  small,  for  the  land  is  not  as 
yet  taken  for  city  use,  and  the  owner  is  allowed  to  get  the 
full  use  out  of  the  old  building.  Only  when  it  becomes  of 
little  or  no  value  does  the  city  take  the  part  of  it  in  front  of 
the  building  line,  with  the  strip  of  land  upon  which  that  part 
stands,  paying  also  any  damage  done  the  rest  of  the  building, 
now  of  little  or  no  value. 

By  this  method  the  street  is  widened  at  intervals  from 
time  to  time,  as  the  buildings  become  valueless.  To  avoid 
the  irregular  line,  the  city  usually  allows  the  owner  to  erect 
a  temporary  structure  out  to  the  old  line,  or,  when  the  old 

'  Src  pp.  47ff. 
-.SV,-  p    5|. 


64  CITY  PLANNING 

buildings  still  remaining  are  few  and  of  little  value,  the  city 
at  once  condemns  all  that  are  left,  so  as  to  finish  the  widen- 
ing at  once.  This  method  is  common  abroad,  and  is  not  un- 
known in  this  country.^ 

Often  there  is  a  change  of  the  use  to  which  a  street  is  put, 
without  any  change  in  its  boundaries.  These  changes  some- 
times aflfect  i)rivate  ])roperty  very  greatly,  and  in  such  cases 
it  is  often  difficult  to  decide  whether  there  has  been  a  taking 
of  a  new  right,  for  which  payment  must  be  made,  or  merely 
the  exercise  of  a  right  already  taken  and  (in  theory  and 
perhaps  in  fact)  paid  for,  but  for  the  first  time  exercised. 
The  city  has  taken  title  or  easement  for  the  use  of  the  land 
as  a  street,  with  all  the  injuries  which  that  use  may  do  the 
abutting  landowner ;  so  that  the  question  usually  is,  whether 
the  new  use  is  a  street  use  in  the  old  meaning  of  the  term. 
For  instance,  the  use  of  a  street  for  a  surface  car  line  is 
merely  another  method  of  using  the  street  for  traffic — a 
well-known  street  use ;  but  the  erection  of  an  elevated  struc- 
ture in  it  for  transit,  although  a  street  use,  is  novel  and  has 
been  held  to  be  not  a  use  contemplated  and  paid  for  when 
the  street  was  originally  laid  out."  In  some  cases,  theory 
and  fact  are  so  far  at  variance  that  statutes  have  been  passed 
remedying  a  real  injustice.  For  instance,  it  is  not  the  taking 
of  any  new  right  from  the  abutters  for  the  city  to  lower  the 
grade  of  a  street  and  leave  a  house  built  on  the  old  grade 
high  in  the  air.''  For  this  reason  statutes  have  been  ])asse(l. 
and  in  some  cases  constitutions  of  states  changed,  pro\i(ling 
for  compensation  whenever  the  abutter  was  "damaged," 
"injured."  or  "injuriously  affected."  *    This  raises  questions 

^  /\s,  for  instance,  in  Philadelphia. 

"This  is  perb.a])s  tlic  prevaiHns;  doctrine;  tlie  cases  in  the  various 
jurisdictions  are,  however,  in  conflict.  See  Lewis:  "imminent  Do- 
main." 3d  ed.,  .Sec.  149  and  ff.,  especially  Sec.  157  and  fT, 

■'  /bid..  Sec.   i.^,^,  and  cases  cited. 

'Ibid.,  Ch.  \'11I. 


PUBLIC  CONTROL  65 

as  to  what  constitutes  damage  or  injury — questions  into 
which  we  have  not  space  to  go.^ 

It  would  be  difficult  to  give  an  adequate  definition  of  a 
slum,  or  any  complete  statement  of  its  causes.  Certainly  the 
slum  usually  contains  houses  either  so  constructed  or  in 
such  a  state  of  repair  as  to  be  unfit  for  habitation,  or  narrow 
crooked  streets  and  shallow  lots,  so  arranged  as  to  make  the 
area  unfit  for  habitation,  or  intolerable  conditions  from  both 
causes  combined. 

If  the  trouble  is  with  the  state  of  the  houses,  the  owner 
may,  without  compensation,  under  the  police  power,  be  com- 
pelled to  put  them  into  habitable  condition,  or  leave  them 
vacant.  If  the  fault  is  in  the  planning  of  the  area  as  a 
whole,  the  only  remedy  is  for  the  city  to  take  and  pay  for 
the  houses  and  land,  throw  land  and  streets  into  a  common 
mass,  and  replan,  selling  the  new  lots  now  suitable  for 
building,  or,  where  legal,  erecting  houses  on  them  itself. 
This  procedure  in  Europe  is  sometimes  called  ''zone  con- 
demnation." -  This  method  may  also  be  used  with  advan- 
tage in  cases  where  a  disaster,  such  as  that  in  San  Francisco 
or  Baltimore,  has  destroyed  all  improvements  over  a  con- 
siderable area,  and  given  a  unique  opportunity  for  improv- 
ing the  city  plan.  Zone  condemnation  has  not  been  adopted 
anywhere  in  the  United  States,  but  there  would  seem  to  be 
no  doubt  as  to  its  constitutionality  in  many  cases,  in  the 
name  of  public  health.     There  are  instances  in  this  country 

*  For  the  law  on  these  subjects,  sec  Lewis:  "Eminent  Domain," 
Ch.  VIII. 

^  Such  statutes,  varying  considerably  in  principle  and  method,  are 
found  in  most  European  states.  The  character  of  the  English  act 
(38  and  39  Vict.,  c.  361,  icS/S)  is  indicated  l)y  its  popular  title,  "The 
I'nhealthy  Areas  Act."  I'or  Continental,  especially  Cicrman,  refer- 
ences, src  the  Saxon  "Ikuigesetz,"  edited  l)y  Rumpelt,  Leipzig, 
(1911);  Rossl)crg"sc]ie  Ilucbhandlung,  p.  44,  or  a  less  complete  list 
in  Ebersladl,  llandbuch  des  W'ohnungswcscns,  2d  ed.,  Jena,  Gustav. 
Fischer   (1910),  p.  221. 


66  CITY  PLANNING 

of  what  is  practically  zone  condemnation  in  the  treatment  of 
land  made  unhealthful  by  dampness.^  There  is  reason  to 
think  that  our  courts  would  recognize  the  taking  of  con- 
gested land  for  replanning  as  a  taking  for  the  benefit  of  the 
public  health,-  or  that  in  cases  of  disaster  or  congestion 
there  might  be  a  rearrangement  of  street  and  private  prop- 
erty lines  largely  or  wholly  under  the  police  power.^ 


Public  Utilities 

Hitherto  we  have  considered  exclusively  city-planning 
limitations  upon  real  estate  and  other  tangible  property. 
The  state  is  sovereign  over  all  property,  including  that  which 
is  intangible.  There  is  one  class  of  property  of  the  intangi- 
ble sort  which  greatly  affects  city  construction  and  the  city 
plan — the  franchises  of  public  service  corporations.  These 
franchises  are  property  and  belong  to  the  corporations.    The 

^  Sec  Nolen :  "Replanning  Small  Cities,"  B.  W.  Huebsch,  New 
York   (1912),  p.  177. 

*  "The  erection  of  very  tall  buildings  in  cities,  especially  upon 
narrow  streets,  may  be  carried  so  far  as  materially  to  exclude  sun- 
shine, light,  and  air,  and  thus  affect  the  public  health.  .  .  .  These 
are  proper  subjects  for  consideration  in  determining  whether,  in  a 
given  case,  rights  of  property  in  the  use  of  land  should  be  inter- 
fered with  for  the  public  good."  Welch  v.  Sivascy,  193  Mass.  364 
at  Zli  (1907)-  The  case  decides  in  favor  of  a  limitation,  under 
the  police  power,  of  the  height  of  buildings.  Congestion  in  other 
forms  may  "exclude  sunshine,  light,  and  air,  and  thus  affect  the 
public  health." 

■'' A  special  law  for  Frankfort-on-the-Main  ("Gcsetz  betreffend 
die  Umlegung  von  Grundstiicken  in  Frankfurt  a.  M.  vom  28  Juli, 
1902."  to  be  found  in  the  Prussian  "Gesetz  Sammlung,"  No.  2^7; 
the  law  is  generally  known  as  the  "Lex  .\dickcs,")  provides  for 
such  a  rearrangement  of  property  lines.  Where  an  equivalent 
amount  of  land  cannot  be  returned  to  any  landowner,  compensation 
in  cash  may  be  required.  There  are  more  or  less  similar  laws  else- 
where.    Sec  note  2,  above. 


PUBLIC  CONTROL  67 

stock  in  these  corporations  is  property  belonging  to  the 
stockholder.  The  value  of  the  stock  is  dependent  upon  the 
value  and  earning  power  of  the  franchises.  I'ecause  of 
their  public  importance  the  public  has  special  need  and  spe- 
cial power  to  control  these  franchises  and  the  actions  of  the 
corporations  holding  them.  There  are  many  sorts  of  public 
service  corporations.  The  field  of  operation  of  some  of 
them  is  touched  upon  in  other  parts  of  this  work.  It  is  only 
possible  to  indicate  most  hastily,  by  way  of  illustration,  the 
importance  and  methods  of  control  of  one  class — transporta- 
tion companies. 

Transportation  is  the  most  important  single  influence  on 
the  city  plan.  It,  more  than  any  other,  makes  and  changes 
the  character  of  streets  and  districts,  and  determines  the 
distribution  of  population,  bringing  by  its  presence  and  effi- 
ciency, distant  parts  of  the  city,  for  all  practical  purposes, 
near  the  center,  or,  by  its  lack  and  inefficiency,  keeping 
nearby  parts  in  effect  at  a  distance  from  that  center.  Not 
only  routes,  amount,  speed,  and  comfort  of  service,  but 
rates  of  fare,  make  the  virtual  city  plan.  A  very  small  pro- 
portion of  the  population  of  a  city  can  live  beyond  the  range 
of  a  five-cent  fare.  Expensive  subways  are  possible  only 
where  there  are  multiple  dwellings,  and  these  soon  cause  the 
private  houses  along  their  route  to  be  replaced  by  tenements. 
In  these,  and  countless  ways  which  are  well  recognized  by 
city  planners  and  transportation  experts  and  are  described 
elsewhere  in  this  work,  transportation  builds  the  city.  If 
uncontrolled,  the  planning  of  such  construction  is  done  1)y 
many  irresponsible,  conflicting  agencies  in  their  own  inter- 
ests. If  tiie  public  interest  is  to  prevail,  the  public  must 
regulate  and  control  these  agencies. 

The  public  exercises  this  control  in  several  ways :  by 
regulating  these  agencies  as  public  utilities  ;  l)y  granting  or 
withholding  from  them  rights  in  the  public  streets  ;  l)y  grant- 
ing or  witliiiolding  special  legislative  jirivilcgcs ;  l)y  rcgulat- 


68  CITY  PLANNING 

ing  them  as  corporations ;  and,  finally,  by  itself  competing 
with  them  or  superseding  them. 

The  right  and  methods  of  state  regulation  of  public  utili- 
ties is  a  complex  subject  with  a  long  history.  The  law  has 
always  recognized  certain  occupations  as  so  important  to  the 
public  that  the  public  has  the  right  to  control  them.  The 
innkeeper,  for  instance,  must  give  food  and  shelter  to  all  at 
a  reasonable  price.  The  common  carrier  of  goods  or  pas- 
sengers is  also  more  than  an  operator  for  private  gain ;  his 
occupation  is  "affected  with  a  public  interest."  ^ 

As  a  public  carrier,  the  transportation  company  in  the 
city  is  not  free  to  earn  for  its  stockholders  any  dividend  it 
can  by  charging  any  fare  it  is  able  to  collect ;  it  is  only  en- 
titled to  a  reasonable  return  on  the  money  actually  invested. 
Nor  is  it  the  judge  of  wdiat  facilities  it  shall  offer.  These 
facilities  must  in  every  way  be  reasonably  sufficient.  Tb.e 
company  and  its  stockholders  are  protected,  however,  by  this 
doctrine  of  reasonableness,  and  by  constitutional  provisions 
against  taking  property  without  compensation ;  for  the  mak- 
ing of  unreasonable  requirements  under  which  the  company 
would  not  be  allowed  to  earn  a  fair  return  is  in  effect  a 
taking. 

Transportation  companies  must  use  the  public  streets,  but 
cannot  do  so  except  with  public  permission.  In  this  way 
the  public  may  lay  out  routes  and  see  to  it  that  tiicre  is  a 
transportation  system  according  to  a  proper  city  plan. 

Transportation  companies,  like  all  large  enterprises,  are 
constantly  in  need  of  legislative  assistance  in  the  way  of  new 
authority.  Thus,  they  may  need  to  take  additional  property 
by  eminent  domain,  change  their  motive  power  or  their 
routes.  The  public,  may  then  make  these  favors  conditional 
on  extensions  and  improvements  in  service. 

Transportation  enterprises  are   forced   practically  to  in- 

'  Chief  Justice  Hale:     "De  Portilnis  Maris,"  cited  in  Miiiiii  v.  Illi- 
nois, 94  U.  S.  IT3  (1876),  p.  126. 


PUBLIC  CONTROL  69 

corporate.  There  is  no  legal  prohibition  in  most  cases  pre- 
venting large  undertakings  from  being  privately  run.  The 
Adams  Express  Company  is  one,  and  perhaps  the  most, 
conspicuous  example  of  such  an  enterprise  in  the  form  of 
a  private  partnership.  There  are  without  doubt  many 
others.  Practically,  however,  in  most  cases,  the  amount  of 
capital  required  is  too  great.  Corporations  have  always 
been  subject  to  public  control  much  more  than  has  been 
the  case  with  individuals. 

Finally,  the  city  may  itself,  wholly  or  partly,  assume  the 
task  of  the  transportation  company.  If  the  road  is  already 
built,  the  city  may,  under  its  power  of  eminent  domain,  take 
the  franchises  and  property,  real  and  personal,  of  the  trans- 
portation company;  either  running  the  road  itself,  or  leasing 
it  under  stringent  operating  conditions  ;  or  the  city  may  itself 
build  a  competing  road  ;  or,  if  the  road  is  not  yet  built,  the 
city  may  in  the  first  instance  build  it,^  operate  it,  or  lease  it 
for  operation  afterwards.  Nowadays  charters  are  often 
granted  with  the  condition  that  the  franchises  and  roadbed 
become  the  property  of  the  public  after  a  given  number  of 
years,  and  the  rolling  stock  be  taken,  if  the  public  authori- 
ties so  desire,  at  a  fixed  figure  or  a  valuation.  Often  a  right 
of  recapture  of  the  road  at  a  figure  or  a  valuation  at  the  end 
of  a  much  shorter  period  is  inserted.  Similar  provisions 
are  made  in  leases  when  the  public  owns  the  road.  In  these 
and  many  other  ways  there  is  a  recognition  of  the  power  of 
transportation  over  city  planning  and  construction,  and  an 
efi'ort  to  secure  its  advantages  and  cure  its  abuses. 

^  By  assessment  of  its  cost  against  abutting  landowners,  as  a 
public  higbway,  if  desired.  See  New  York  Laws  (1Q09),  Cb.  498, 
Sec.  17,  adding  su])section  3  to  section  37  of  tbe  Rapid  Transit  Act; 
also,  "P)uilding  of  Rapid  Transit  Lines  in  New  York  City  by  Assess- 
ment Cpon  Pro])erty  Benefited,"  a  pampblet  issued  Oct.  2,  190S.  by 
tlie  City  Clul)  of  New  York  in  advocacy  of  tbis  additional  section, 
of  wbicb  no  use  bas  ever  been  made. 


70  CITY  PLANNING 


Building  Regulation 


We  have  so  far  been  discussing  matters  related  to  the 
public  features  of  the  city.  Important  as  these  features  are, 
their  sole  purpose  is  to  make  private  land  more  useful.  We 
have  referred  to  the  influence  of  the  public  on  the  private 
use.  We  shall  now  turn  to  the  direct  control,  by  statute 
and  ordinance,  of  this  private  use. 

More  specifically,  our  subject  now  is  building  regulation. 
This  is  not  a  taking  of  property  but  a  regulation  of  it,  while 
leaving  it  in  private  ownership,  for  private  use.  This  is 
done  under  what  we  know  as  the  police  power,  for  the  public 
good,  without  the  payment  of  compensation. 

Building  regulation  seems  to  have  existed  since  the  begin- 
ning of  civilization  and  building  itself.  The  regulations  of 
the  Middle  Ages  are  well  known  to  us.  In  outline  some  of 
them  still  survive ;  but  mainly  for  purposes  quite  other  than 
those  that  led  to  their  adoption. 

In  modern  German  codes,  for  instance,  there  is  often  a 
height  limitation  of  five  stories,  a  minimum  size  of  court, 
and  a  space  required  between  buildings.  In  medieval  times, 
these  regulations  were  passed  as  precautions  against  fire : 
today  their  main  purpose  is  to  secure  light  and  air. 

Building  regulations  are  of  many  sorts,  passed  for  many 
purposes,  cooperating,  indifferent  one  to  the  other,  or  con- 
flicting. While  any  mutually  exclusive  classification  of  these 
regulations  is  impossible,  they  may  be  roughly  divided  into 
three  classes :  structural  requirements,  regulaiions  of  bulk, 
and  regulations  of  use.  By  structural  requirements,  as  the 
term  is  employed  here,  are  meant  structural  requirements 
other  than  those  of  bulk  or  use.  Structural  requirements  in 
this  sense  may  be  further  divided  into  regulations  to  secure 
stability,  and  regulations  to  promote  morality,  sanitation,  or 
some  similar  result. 


PUBLIC  CONTROL  71 

Building  regulations  laying  down  certain  requirements  to 
guard  against  flimsy  construction  liable  to  collapse  or  to  be 
readily  burned  are  very  general.  Of  late  years  they  have 
become  voluminous  and  detailed.  This  is  partly  due  to  the 
multitudinous  and  widely  diversified  demands  made  upon 
the  modern  architect  and  builder,  and  the  wealth  of  ma- 
terials and  processes  available  to  satisfy  these  demands ; 
partly  to  the  need  of  setting  up  definite  requirements  and 
standards  for  use  by  city  officials.  This  has  led  at  times  to 
the  undue  curbing  of  the  freedom  of  the  builder  and  the 
architect,  who,  in  their  inventiveness,  but  for  these  special 
requirements,  might  well  have  found  cheaper  and  better 
methods  and  materials.  It  is  to  be  feared,  also,  that  spe- 
cial interests  have  often  succeeded,  to  their  own  profit,  in 
securing  the  exclusive  adoption  of  their  own  materials  and 
processes.  Whatever  the  reason  for  these  detailed  require- 
ments, it  seems  to  be  generally  admitted  that  construction 
in  many  of  our  cities  has  been  made  unduly  expensive  by 
them. 

The  desire  to  secure  stability,  combined  with  the  bureau- 
cratic tendency  toward  formal  uniformity,  has  led  to  an- 
other unfortunate  result.  The  requirements  for  all  build- 
ings have  been  made  too  much  the  same.  The  dififerences 
between  a  theater,  for  instance,  and  a  dwelling-house  are 
too  obvious  to  be  overlooked.  Not  so  with  the  differences, 
hardly  less  real  and  important,  between  the  large  and  the 
small  house.  As  a  result,  it  is  scarcely  too  much  to  say  that 
the  differences,  seen  and  provided  for  in  the  one  case,  have 
been  overlooked  altogether  too  much  in  the  other,  so  that 
much  the  same  requirements  have  been  made  for  the  cheap 
house  and  the  dear,  the  single  house  and  the  muUijile  dwell- 
ing. This  is  not  equality,  but  most  unfair  discrimination. 
The  small  building  does  not  need  so  thick  walls,  for  in- 
stance, as  the  larger  one.  The  relative  expense  of  the  same 
walls  is  much  greater  for  the  chca])er  than  for  the  dearer 


^2  CITY  PLANNING 

one.     This  evil,  while  it  exists  in  this  country,  is  much 
greater  in  Germany. 

Structural  regulations,  passed  ostensibly  to  obtain  stability 
and  nothing  else,  sometimes  have  social  and  economic  results 
quite  as  important.  Thus  the  requirement  that  tenement 
houses  in  New  York  City  over  six  stories  in  height  should  be 
fireproof,^  by  greatly  increasing  the  expense  of  building 
higher  tenement  houses,  has  greatly  lessened  the  number  of 
higher  ones  to  be  built. ^ 

^Originally  Laws  1901,  Ch.  334,  Sec.  11;  now  Tenement  House 
Law,  Laws  1909,  Ch.  99,  Sec.  15;  renumbered,  Laws  1913,  Ch.  551, 
Sec.  14.    See  also  same,  Sec.  24.  as  amended,  Laws  1913,  Ch.  551. 

^  Housing  conditions  in  New  York  are  unique ;  in  applying  experi- 
ence there  to  other  places  this  must  not  be  forgotten.  Nevertheless, 
this  experience  judiciously  used  may  be  of  great  value  everywhere. 
Housing  evils  have  been  greater  in  New  York,  and  have  developed 
earlier,  than  elsewhere  in  this  country.  This  has  made  New  York 
in  many  ways  a  pioneer.  A  comparison  of  conditions  there  twenty 
years  ago  and  today  shows  that  probably  in  no  other  city  in  the 
world  has  there  been  in  this  period  progress  in  tenement  house  con- 
ditions so  rapid  or  so  great.  The  construction  of  the  infamous 
"dumb  bell,"  on  a  narrow  lot,  with  its  many  dark,  unventilatcd 
rooms,  has  stopped ;  in  place  of  the  air-shaft,  the  tenement  of  today 
has  light  and  ventilation  for  every  room  not  on  the  street,  from 
comparatively  wide  and  ample  courts  and  yards.  Every  apartment 
has,  in  the  apartment  itself,  its  toilet,  and  practically  every  one,  its 
bath.  There  has  been  no  loss  of  life  due  to  conflagration  in  any  of 
the  tenements  erected  under  the  "new  law,"  passed  in   1901. 

Yet  the  unparalleled  increase  in  the  requirements  made,  in  the 
public  -interest,  in  these  twenty  years,  of  the  tenement  house  builder 
and  owner,  has  apparently  caused  little  if  any  rise  in  rents.  Hon. 
John  J.  Murphy,  Tenement  House  Commissioner,  in  an  unpub- 
lished address  delivered  before  the  American  Association  for  the 
Advancement  of  Science,  at  Cleveland,  January  3,  1913,  says :  "It 
is  not  true  that  there  has  been  any  great  increase  in  tenement  house 
rent — also,  notwithstanding  the  high  cost  of  living,  and  the  increase 
in  taxation,  rentals  are  today  much  lower  than  they  were  before  the 
panic  of  1907.     In  fact,  they  are  only  slightly  higher  than  in  1902." 

Nor  apparently  have  the  law  of  1901  and  its  amendments  ])ecn 
any  check  on  the  steady  and  rapid  increase  in  the  building  of  new 


PUBLIC  CONTROL  ;3 

Thei^  are  also  structural  requirements  (other  than  those 
of  bulk  or  use  of  buildings,  to  be  dealt  with  later)  whose 
object  is  to  promote  morality,  sanitation,  and  the  like.  The 
specifications  with  regard  to  plumbing,  water  supply  for 
every  family,  and  perhaps  a  separate  water  closet,  are  ex- 
amples of  this  class  of  rec^uirements,  so  common  in 
modern  building,  housing,  and  tenement  house  codes  and 
laws. 

The  main  purpose  of  regulations  limiting  the  bulk  of 
buildings  is  to  guard  against  undue  concentration  in  cities. 
A  certain  measure  of  concentration  is  necessary.  The  di- 
vision of  labor,  upon  which  modern  civilization  is  so  largely 
dependent,  has  differentiated  the  land  of  the  country  into 
urban  and  rural  land.  In  the  rural  parts  of  the  country, 
the  raw  products  are  produced  and  extracted  ;  in  the  city  the 
product  is  manufactured  and  exchanged.  Manufacture  and 
exchange  require,  much  more  than  production  and  extrac- 
tion, those  close  and  quick  contacts  which  only  the  intensive 
use  of  land  can  give. 

But  undue  concentration  defeats  the  purpose  of  concen- 
tration ;  it  becomes  congestion,  clogging  movement  instead 
of  quickening  it.    For  the  first  time  in  history  this  problem  is 

tenement  houses.  In  round  numbers,  a  billion  of  dollars  has  been 
invested  in  the  24,000  "new  law"  tenement  houses,  in  which  a  mil- 
lion and  a  half  of  people  live.  The  map  in  this  report  shows  graph- 
ically the  number  and  location  of  these  tenements  in  the  borough  of 
Manhattan. 

For  a  fuller  summary  of  these  facts,  see  the  following  articles  by 
Commissioner  Murphy:  "Tenement  House  Reform  Since  i8go," 
soon  to  be  printed;  "Some  Effects  of  Housing  Regulation,"  in  The 
Annals  of  the  American  Academy  of  Political  and  Social  Science, 
Jan.,  1914,  vol.  51,  p.  99.  See  also  "The  Tenement  House  Problem," 
edited  by  De  Forest  and  Veiller,  Macmillan  Co.,  New  York  (i(X)3),2 
vols.;  "Housing  Reform  in  New  York  City,  Being  the  Report  of 
the  Tenement  House  Committee  of  the  Charity  Organization  Society 
of  the  City  of  New  York  for  1911,  1912,  and  1913"  (pamphlet)  ;  and 
the  re|)()rts  of  tlie  Tenement  House  Department  of  the  City. 


74  CITY  PLANNING 

acute.  Cities  have  always  existed,  but  never  before  have 
they  been  so  numerous  or  so  large.  Machinery  and  im- 
proved methods  in  manufacture,  in  the  arts,  and  in  agricul- 
ture, have  increased  the  product,  lessened  the  number  of 
people  required  for  production,  and  augmented  the  number 
necessary  for  supervision  and  exchange. 

At  the  same  time  our  demands  upon  city  life  have 
changed.  Streets  built  for  the  occupants  and  business  of 
moderate  structures  are  lined  with  much  greater  buildings ; 
central  areas  are  crowded  with  the  people  and  affairs  of 
wide  new  areas,  brought  near  by  improved  transit. 

Nor  is  this  all ;  the  problem  is  also  one  of  living  condi- 
tions. In  olden  days  overcrowding,  bad  air,  lack  of  light 
and  sun  were  accepted  as  an  inevitable  part  of  city  con- 
struction ;  by  most  people  they  were  not  even  known  to  be 
evils.  Under  these  conditions  cities  grew.  Now,  with  in- 
creased knowledge  of  cause  and  effect,  we  demand  light  and 
air  in  our  cities  as  necessities  of  life.  To  satisfy  these  re- 
quirements we  must  have  space.  This,  as  never  before, 
brings  the  problem  of  concentration  home  to  cities  the  world 
over. 

The  usual  provisions  regulating  the  bulk  of  buildings  are 
those  limiting  height  and  area.  The  purpose  of  height  limi- 
tations is  to  prevent  a  building  from  intercepting  too  much 
light  and  air  from  its  own  lower  portions,  and  from  neigh- 
boring buildings.  The  purpose  of  area  limitations  is  to 
secure  on  each  building  lot  a  minimum  of  open  space  for 
the  access  of  light  and  air  to  the  building  and  to  neighboring 
buildings ;  and,  if  possible,  space  for  outdoor  life.  The 
purpose  of  both  classes  of  provisions  is  to  prevent  undue 
concentration  with  relation  to  streets,  public  open  spaces, 
and  public  utilities.  They  apply,  of  course,  only  to  new 
buildings  ;  they  are  not  retroactive.^ 

Height  is  limited  sometimes  at  a  fixed  maximum,  somc- 

'^  For  the  practice  in  California,  liowevcr,  sec  p.  82. 


PUBLIC  CONTROL  75 

times  with  relation  to  the  width  of  the  street  upon  which  the 
building  stands. 

Area  limitations  usually  either  require  a  percentage  of  the 
building  lot  to  be  kept  open ;  or  prescribe  courts  and  yards 
of  minimum  dimensions  in  given  localities  with  relation  to 
the  building;  or  make  both  classes  of  requirements.  The 
percentage  requirement  leaves  to  the  architect  greater  free- 
dom in  the  planning  of  his  building.  It  is  more  often  re- 
garded as  sufficient  where  the  required  percentage  is  large, 
and  it  is  easier  to  give  each  room  its  light  and  air.  The  pur- 
pose of  the  prescribed  courts  and  yards  is  to  make  sure  that 
each  room  has  this  light  and  air,  so  far  as  possible. 

Sometimes  bulk  regulations  are  framed  combining  height 
and  area  limitations,  as,  for  instance,  regulations  requiring  a 
larger  percentage  of  open  space,  or  larger  minimum  courts 
and  yards,  the  higher  a  building  is  built.  Evidently,  to  se- 
cure the  same  access  of  light  and  air,  there  must  be  more 
open  space  in  connection  with  a  tall  than  with  a  low 
building. 

Bulk  regulations  may  be  the  same  for  all  buildings  in  a 
given  city  or  district,  or  vary  with  the  class  of  building.  It 
is  usual  in  Europe,  and  not  uncommon  in  this  country,  to  fix 
a  height  limit  which  no  building  shall  exceed.^  It  is  also 
usual,  there  and  here,  to  recognize  that  special  buildings 
should  be  specially  regulated  as  to  height ;  such  as  factories, 
where  a  large  number  of  persons  are  employed,  and  tene- 
ments, where  large  numbers  live.  This  variation  in  regula- 
tion is  also  based  on  the  use  to  which  the  building  is  to  be 
put.  Other  use  regulations  are  those  requiring  special  exits 
for  theaters,  special  fire  escapes  for  tenements,  etc. 

*  Report  of  Heights  of  Buildings  Commission,  New  York  (1913), 
pp.  4,  23. 


^6  CITY  PLANNING 

Districting 

So  far,  we  have  treated  building  regulations  as  if  in  any 
given  municipality  they  were  the  same  for  all  buildings,  or 
for  all  buildings  of  the  same  class.  This  may  be  the  case. 
Regulations,  however,  may  differ  in  different  parts  of  the 
municipality.   Such  regulations  are  called  district  regulations. 

Districting  may  be  by  bulk  or  by  use.  By  varying  the 
size  of  buildings  in  proportion  to  the  lots  they  occupy,  we 
may  obtain  degrees  of  concentration  in  our  districts ;  by 
varying  the  grouping  of  buildings  according  to  the  use  for 
which  they  are  intended,  we  may  give  the  districts  unity  and 
character. 

Districting  according  to  bulk  developed  in  Germany,  the 
country  where  districting  originated,  as  a  remedy  for  con- 
gestion. City  planners  there  in  the  seventies  found  the 
centers  of  population  almost  hopelessly  overcrowded ;  and 
saw  with  alarm  that  this  condition  was  spreading  as  cities 
grew.  In  the  older  parts  it  was  impossible,  without  virtual 
confiscation,  to  require  new  buildings  to  be  much  lower  or 
smaller  than  those  already  there ;  ^  for  the  price  of  the  land 
had  adjusted  itself  to  the  development.  As  practical  men, 
they  therefore  left  the  rules  in  the  centers  much  as  they 
were,  and  secured  the  enactment  of  adequate  restrictions  for 
the  newer  parts  of  cities.  This  created  districts  varying  one 
from  the  other  in  the  height  and  area  of  their  buildings. 
Experience  has  shown  that  this  is  the  only  way,  conserva- 
tively and  wisely,  to  prevent  the  spread  of  congestion  in 
cities  as  they  grow. 

Districting  according  to  use  was  devised  in  Germany  as  a 

^  Quaere :  whether,  after  concentration  has  readied  a  certain  point, 
as  perhaps  in  lower  New  York  City,  this  wonld  l)e  true?  See  Re- 
port of  Heights  of  Buildings  Commission,  New  York  City  (1913), 
p.  104. 


PUBLIC  CONTROL  yy 

remedy  for  confusion  in  cities.  Under  the  first  Napoleon, 
protected  districts  were  established  for  cities  in  parts  of 
what  is  now  South  Germany.  Within  these  protected  dis- 
tricts the  construction  of  buildings  for  the  more  offensive, 
dangerous  and  unhealthy  manufacturing  was  not  permitted. 
This  system  spread,  and  became  Prussian  and,  later,  im- 
perial German  law.^  From  this  system  developed  districting 
according  to  use,  in  the  many  forms  and  degrees  in  which 
it  exists  in  Germany  today. 

In  the  typical  German  city  we  find  a  system  combining 
districting  by  bulk  and  districting  by  use.  Let  us  take 
Frankfort  on  the  Main  as  an  illustration — a  city  where  the 
system  is  comparatively  simple. 

The  old  or  inner  city  is  the  first  zone.  Here  the  highest 
buildings  are  allowed,  and  the  greatest  proportion  of  the  lot 
may  be  covered.  Factories  are  permitted,  but  are  not  nu- 
merous. The  inner  city  existed  long  before  districting  was 
adopted. 

The  outer  city  is  divided  into  an  inner,  an  outer,  and  a 
rural  zone,  in  which  the  permissible  height  of  new  buildings 
and  percentage  of  the  lot  that  they  may  cover  progressively 
decrease.  In  each  of  these  zones  are  residential,  industrial 
and  mixed  sections.  In  the  residential  sections  factories  are 
so  discouraged  as  to  be  practically  forbidden.  In  the  indus- 
trial sections  every  industrial  facility  is  furnished ;  and  resi- 
dences, since  1912,  are  forbidden.  In  the  mixed  sections, 
situated  near  the  industrial  sections,  certain  less  offensive 
industries  are  permitted.  Some  of  the  remoter  parts  of  the 
city  are  reserved  for  country  houses.  Through  all  the  zones 
and  districts  run  the  main  traffic  streets,  where  shops  and 
minor   industries   are  permitted,    and    buildings    somewhat 

^  Gcwcrbeordnung  fiir  das  Deutsche  Reich,  vom  2\  Juni,  u^f;, 
in  der  Fassun.t^  der  Reichsgesetze  vcmi  26  Juli,  1897,  ""d  30  Juni, 
19CX);  Sec.  16  to  27.  See  also,  Wortcrhuch  dcs  Deutschcn  Staats  und 
Vcrhaltungsrechts  (Tiibungen,  1913,  Vol.  2,  p   24<S. ) 


78 


CITY  PLANNING 


)     S    1.    A    N    p 


higher,  and  covering  a  somewhat  greater  proportion  of  their 
lot,  than  buikhngs  on  other  streets  in  these  zones  and  dis- 
tricts, are  allowed. 

The  oljjcct  of  districting  is  twofold  :  first,  to  discover  dif- 
ferences in  different  parts  of  cities  and  adapt  regulations  to 


PURLIC  CONTROL 


79 


them,  where  these  differences  are  desirable,  or,  as  is  so 
often  the  case  in  the  built-up  sections,  too  deeply  fixed  to  be 
changed ;  secondly,  to  protect,  accentuate,  or  create  char- 
acter in  a  district. 

All  cities  have  within  their  limits  localities  of  distinct  and 


8o  CITY  PLANNING 

different  character.  New  York,  for  instance,  has  its  finan- 
cial and  office  district  downtown  in  the  narrowest  part  of 
the  Island  of  Manhattan.  There  land  is  most  valuable, 
buildings  tallest,  and  streets  narrowest.  Quite  different  in 
character  is  Fifth  Avenue;  different  again  are  the  Bronx, 
Brooklyn,  and  the  remoter  parts  of  Staten  Island.  These 
differences  are  in  each  locality  expressed  in  the  height,  den- 
sity, and  form  of  building  and  in  land  values.  Each  is  a 
district  of  the  great  city,  with  conditions  and  character  of  its 
own. 

So  Boston  has  its  State  Street,  its  Back  Bay,  its  West 
Roxbury.  So  Chicago,  New  Orleans,  San  Francisco,  cities 
everywhere,  even  down  to  those  of  but  a  few  thousand 
population,  have  differences  within  their  boundaries  and 
express  them  in  character  of  buildings  and  variations  in 
land  value. 

Regulation,  to  be  effective,  must  adapt  itself  to  these 
differences.  If  rules  were  uniform  they  would  require 
buildings  of  the  same  height  on  Wall  Street  and  Staten 
Island,  New  York,  State  Street  and  West  Roxbury,  Boston, 
city  centers  and  city  suburbs  everywhere. 

The  district  system  also  seeks  to  preserve  desirable  dif- 
ferences. The  intrusion  of  a  factory  into  an  expensive 
residential  district  is  a  menace  to  the  health  and  comfort  of 
its  inhabitants  and  the  value  of  land  in  the  district.  Nor 
is  it  only  the  residences  of  the  wealthy  that  should  be  pro- 
tected. Humbler  homes  should  be  kept  free  from  disagree- 
able and  unhealthful  smoke  and  noise. 

Districts,  too,  may  often  be  given  a  character.  In  recog- 
nizing the  importance  of  natural  characteristics,  we  some- 
times forget  the  importance  of  acquired  ones.  A  regulation 
assuring  to  a  district  an  exclusively  residential  character  is 
often  enough  to  make  it  a  desirable  residential  neighbor- 
hood. 

Districting  properly  carried  out  does  not  interfere  with 


PUBLIC  CONTROL  8i 

the  neighborhood  center,  but  should  recognize  it,  just  as 
greater  centers  are  recognized.  Nor  need  the  neighborhood 
diversities  and  relationships,  less  concentrated  than  at  the 
neighborhood  center,  be  sacrificed.  For  instance,  the  main 
traffic  streets  in  residential  districts  are,  from  a  business 
point  of  view,  good  locations  for  the  minor  industries  that 
must  be  near  the  residences,  but  should  not  be  scattered 
among  them ;  workingmen's  residential  districts  should  be 
near  the  industrial  districts  where  the  men  work ;  and  resi- 
dential and  industrial  districts  in  some  cases  may  consist 
of  single  streets,  adjoining  and  parallel.^ 

The  aim  of  the  districting  system  is,  therefore,  to  put  all 
land  in  a  city  to  its  highest  use,  and  preserve  it  for  that 
use  until  it  becomes  better  suited  to  some  other  use.  The 
result  of  the  system  should  be  to  increase  land  values,  and 
prevent  fluctuations  in  them.  Experience  in  Germany  would 
seem  to  show  that  this  is,  in  fact,  its  result.- 

The  districting,  or  zone,  system,  was  first  evolved  and 
advocated  in  the  seventies  by  Baumeister,  one  of  Germany's 
great  theoretical  city  planners;  first  applied  in  1884,  and 
more  fully  in  1891,  by  one  of  her  great  city  administrators, 
Dr.  Franz  Adickes ;  has  stood  the  test  of  thirty  years,  and 
is  today  the  established  system  in  Germany,  the  country 
where  city  administration  has  reached  its  highest  efficiency. 

From  Germany,  the  system  has  spread  to  Switzerland, 
and  the  Scandinavian  countries.  England  has  borrowed 
from  it  somewhat  in  her  planning  act  of  1909.  Canada  and 
the  United  States,  at  first  perhaps  unconsciously,  but  now 
deliberately,  are  beginning  to  adopt  its  principles. 

The  best-known  instances  of  districting  by  bulk  in  the 
United   States,   are  the  height   districts   in    P)OSton,  and   in 

^  Sec  Frank  Backus  Williams  :  "The  Street  as  the  Basis  for  Dis- 
tricting,"  The  A))icrica)i  City,  Dec,   1913,  p.  517. 

^Report  of  Ileiglits  of  Buildings  Commission,  New  York  City 
(1913),  PP-   102,   112. 


82 


CITY  PLANNING 


Washington,  D.  C.  INIany  states  in  this  country  and  prov- 
inces in  Canada  have  authorized  districting  by  use  and  a 
number  of  their  cities  have  acted  under  this  authority. 
Districting  in  America  has  usually  taken  the  form  of  the 
establishment  of  residential  districts,  within  which  certain 
industries  may  not  be  introduced.     Generally,  industries  of 


Zone  or  District  Map  of  Greater  Berlin 
Figures    represent    stories;    districts    of    two-story    buildings,    detached 
buildings:   districts   of   three-story    buildings   all    in    solid   rows,    except    the 
lighter  parts  of  Ndr.    Schonhausen    and    Hchen    Schonhausen;    districts    of 
four   and    five   stories,   all    in   solid   rows. 

these  classes,  if  already  in  the  district,  may  remain.     Cali- 
fornia alone  in  some  instances  has  expelled  them.^ 

There  is  reason  to  think  that  districting  under  the  police 
power,  without  compensation,  is  constitutional  in  the  United 
States.- 

'Report   of   llci,t;lits   of    Buildings   Cominission,    New   York   City 
(1913),  p.  32. 
'Ibid.,  p.  7;   Ciisack  Co.  v.  Chicago,  267.  111.  344   (1915). 


PUBLIC  CONTROL  83 

An  interesting  form  of  districting  by  use  is  provided  for 
in  the  New  York  State  housing  law  for  second-class  cities, 
passed  in  1913.^  Tt  authorizes  the  common  council,  on  peti- 
tion of  two-thirds  of  the  owners  affected,  to  establish  resi- 
dential districts.  The  unit  of  area  for  a  district  is  that  of 
the  lots  fronting  on  one  side  of  a  street,  between  two  inter- 
secting streets.  This  is  districting  partly  by  local  option. 
It  has  been  decided  (Eubank  v.  Richmond,  222  U.  S.  137, 
1912)  that  to  leave  the  matter  wholly  to  less  than  all  those 
interested  would  be  unconstitutional  as  a  taking  of  pro])crty 
without  any  sufficient  guaranty  that  their  decision  would  be 
in  the  public  interest. 

Districting  partly  by  local  option  is  no  doubt  good  as  a 
first  step.  But  such  a  system  does  not  lend  itself  to  the 
adoption  of  any  consistent  and  complete  district  planning. 
It  is  most  important  not  only  that  districts  should  be  rightly 
located  themselves,  but  that  they  should  be  located  for  the 
advantage  of  other  districts.  Most  workingmen's  resi- 
dences, for  instance,  must  be  near  industrial  districts. 

The  Board  of  Estimate  of  New  York  City  has  recently 
obtained  authority  to  divide  the  city  into  bulk  and  use  dis- 
tricts, and  a  commission  is  now  proceeding  with  the  work. 
The  result  will  be  of  great  interest. 

Unity  in  Planning 

One  thing  more  of  great  importance  remains  to  be  said 
of  the  planning  of  the  public  features,  and  the  controlling 
of  the  use  of  the  private  land  of  a  city :  both  must  be  done 
as  parts  of  one  city  plan.  The  street  in  width  and  char- 
acter, the  park  in  extent,  the  subway  in  capacity,  must  each 
be  fixed  with  relation  to  the  bulk,  character,  and  location  of 
buildings,  and  the  number  of  inhabitants,  for  common  use 
in  one  city. 

^  Cli.  774.     Now  repealed. 


84  CITY  PLANNING 


Effect  of  Planning  on  Land  Values 

This  completes  the  long  list  of  city  planning  restrictions. 
That  they  are  an  advantage  to  the  community  as  a  whole, 
this  chapter  perhaps  has  already  succeeded  in  proving.  But, 
in  spite  of  being  imposed  upon  private  property,  they  serve 
the  interests  of  that  property  and,  indeed,  are  essential  to 
its  value. 

In  the  aggregate,  land  value  is  very  largely  a  community 
product.  This  is  true  of  all  kinds  of  land.  The  fertility  of 
agricultural  lands  is  due  to  the  goodness  of  God  and  in- 
creased by  the  industry  of  the  individual  owner ;  but  the 
value  of  it  consists  almost  entirely  in  its  accessibility  and  the 
intelligent  honest  government  of  the  community  in  which  it 
is  situated.  In  Central  Africa  and  in  much  of  Mexico  at 
present,  there  is  a  large  quantity  of  very  rich  land  that 
would  be  dear  at  the  price  of  a  very  poor  song.  How  much 
more  true  is  this  everywhere  of  building  land  values.  Even 
in  the  L'nited  States,  with  its  intelligence,  stability  and  grow- 
ing density  of  population,  where  aggregate  front  foot  values 
compare  very  favorably  with  aggregate  acreage  values,  the 
extent  of  agricultural  land  vastly  exceeds  that  of  building 
land.  Only  a  small  part  of  the  exceptional  value  of  building 
lots  is  anywhere  due  to  a  God-given  harbor  or  an  individu- 
ally filled  or  piled  lot ;  increase  in  population,  a  more  or  less 
honest  government,  a  more  or  less  intelligent  community  de- 
velopment, have  done  the  rest. 

Very  few  of  us  realize  the  fact  that  city  land  development 
in  all  but  the  exceptional  case,  is  the  work  of  the  community. 
The  city  lays  out  the  streets,  licenses  the  public  service 
corporations,  chooses  their  locations,  decides  where  the 
parks  and  public  buildings  shall  be,  and,  except  where  it  is 
left  to  private  interests  or  chance,  determines  by  districting 
the  character  of  neighboring  buildings.     Nothing  remains 


PUBLIC  CONTROL  85 

to  the  average  individual  but  to  accept  the  character  that 
has  been  given  to  his  land  and  build  accordingly. 

The  exceptional  case  is  that  of  the  large  real-estate  owner 
developing  virgin  territory  for  high-class  suburban  resi- 
dential use.  Tie  can  plan  his  tract  and  to  some  extent  fix 
its  character  by  private  restrictions  in  deeds.  But  this  he 
can  do  only  in  America  and  such  other  countries  as  still 
neglect  the  duty  of  making  public  plans  in  all  such  cases. 
The  large  individual  owner  cannot  plan  the  streets  and  other 
public  features  of  his  tract  in  the  best  way  and,  therefore, 
in  the  way  most  advantageous  to  him,  because  he  cannot 
control  their  relation  to  those  which  may  be  planned  for 
adjacent  lands ;  that  can  be  done  only  by  a  plan  made  by  the 
city  for  the  city  as  a  whole.  Nor  can  he  fix  the  character  of 
his  tract,  as  the  city  can,  by  a  districting  plan  for  the  entire 
city.  How  often — to  take  as  an  illustration  one  class  of 
cases  out  of  a  great  many — lack  of  proper  restriction  in 
surrounding  territory  injures  the  restricted  tract.  Then, 
too,  the  restrictions,  if  for  a  short  term  of  years,  soon 
run  out;  and  if  for  a  long  term  or  perpetual,  in  many  cases 
become  unsuitable  and  obsolete.  The  landowner,  having 
exercised  his  power  at  the  outset,  has  exhausted  it ;  the  city 
may  be  given  a  flexible,  continuing  power,  and  is  thus  very 
much  better  fitted  for  the  task. 

Increase  in  land  values  is  an  indissoluble  part  of  com- 
munity development.  The  landowner,  great  or  small,  will 
find  his  interest  and  the  general  interest  one  and  the  same. 
To  help  himself  he  must,  in  common  with  all  citizens,  throw 
himself  into  community  life  and  make  it  honest  and  efficient. 


Bibliography 

Bavaria.     Bauordnunj^  vom  17  ¥<:]).  1901 — 3  Aug-,  igio.     Edited 
by  von  l^iglcrl.     Munich,  1912. 


86  CITY  PLANNING 

Bennett,  E.  H.  Planning  for  Distribution  of  Industries.  An- 
nals of  the  American  Academy  of  Political  and  Social  Sci- 
ence, li,  whole  no.  140,  January,  1914,  pp.  216-221. 

Bolton,  Reginald  Pelham.     Building  for  Profit.     New  York, 

1911.  124  pp. 

Bouvier.     Les  reglements  de  Voirie  do  Paris.     Paris,  1903. 

Comey,  a.  C.  The  Regulation  of  the  Height  of  Fireproof 
Commercial  Buildings.  Proceedings  of  Fourth  National 
Conference  on   City  Planning,  1912,  pp.  152-155. 

Eijerstadt,  Rudolph,  Handbuch  des  Wohnungswesens.  2d 
edition,  Jena,  1910. 

VON  Englert.  Handausgabe  der  Miinchner  Bauordnung. 
Edited  by  Max  Schneider.     Munich,   191 1. 

Evans,  Powell.  A  Five  Years'  Fight  Against  Fire  Waste 
and  Its  Possible  Control  in  the  United  States  by  Fire 
Prevention    and    Protection.      Philadelphia,    1912,    180    pp. 

Falconer,  B.  M.  Can  We  Legally  Restrict  Buildings?  Real 
Estate  Record  and  Builders'  Guide,  xci,  191 3,  pp.  502,  507. 

Frankfurt  am  Main.  Baupolizeiverordnungen  fiir  die  Stadtge- 
meinde  Frankfurt  am  Main  mit  einen  Bauzonenplan  sowie 
einige  einschliigige   Bestimmungen.     Frankfurt   am  Main, 

1912.  118  pp. 

Freund,  Ernest.     The  Police  Power.     Chicago,   1904. 

HoRSFALL,  T.  C,  comp.  The  Improvement  of  the  Dwellings 
and  Surroundings  of  the  People:  The  Example  of  Ger- 
many.    Manchester,  1905.     193  pp. 

Lewis,  John.  A  Treatise  on  the  Law  of  Eminent  Domain. 
3d  Edition,  Chicago,  1909. 

Munich.  Miinchner  Staffebauordnung  vom  20  April,  1904. 
Edited  by  August  Steinhauser.     Munich,  1904. 

National  Board  of  Fire  Underwriters.  Building  Code.  New 
York,  1909.     268  pp. 

New  York  City.  Report  of  Heights  of  Buildings  Commis- 
sion.    New  York,  1913. 

Prussia.  Baufluchtsliniengesetz  vom  2  Juli,  1875.  Edited  by 
Walter  Saran.     Berlin,  191 1. 

Shurtleff  and  Olmsted.  Carrying  Out  the  City  Plan.  New 
York,    1914. 


PUBLIC  CONTROL  87 

SxiJBBEN,  F.  Die  Bedeutung  der  Bauordnungen  und  Bebau- 
ungspliine  fiir  das  Wohnungswesen.  Gottingcn,  1902.  55 
pp. 

Su'DEKUM,  ALnERT.     Grossstadtisches  Wohnungsclend.     Berlin. 

75  PP- 
Veillek,  Lawrence.     A  Model  Tenement  House  Law.     New 

York,  1910.     142  pp. 
Williams,  Frank  Backus.     Building  Regulation  by  Districts. 

National   Housing   Association   Publications,    New    York, 

1914. 
.     The   German  Zone   Building  Regulations.     New   York 

City,  Report  of  the  Heights  of  Buildings  Commission,  1913, 

pp.  94-119- 
Wohnungsfursorge  in  Deutschen  Stadten.    Kaiserliches  Statis- 
tisches  Amt,  Arbeiterstatisck,  no.  11.     Berlin,  1910. 


CHAPTER    IV 
LOCAL   AND    MINOR    STREETS 

The  main  purpose  of  this  chapter  will  he  to  deal  with 
certain  general  principles  that  apply  with  especial  force  to 
the  treatment  of  local  streets/  and,  ahove  all,  to  make  a  plea 
for  the  exercise  of  a  much  greater  degree  of  discrimination 
in  the  design  and  construction  of  such  streets  than  has  here- 
tofore been  the  practice  of  many  of  those  engaged  in  this 
\vork.  In  order,  however,  to  make  somewhat  clearer  the 
general  statements  that  will  be  submitted,  some  of  the  views 
expressed  will  be  illustrated  by  giving  a  few  typical  exami- 
ples  of  rules  of  practice  that  have  been  followed  with  sat- 
isfactory results  for  nearly  twenty  years  in  the  development 
work  with  which  the  writer  is  associated. 

It  may  tend  to  simplify  the  question  under  consideration, 
if,  before  taking  up  its  discussion,  we  first  remind  ourselves 
of  our  reasons  for  laying  out  and  opening  streets  of  any 
kind,  and  recall  the  character  of  tiie  various  items  of  cost 
involved  in  such  work.  To  state  the  matter  in  a  very  ele- 
mentary way : 

(i)  The  only  function  performed  by  a  street,  which 
could  not  be  as  w^ell,  and  more  cheaply,  provided   for  in 

'  In  the  discussion,  herein  presented,  of  the  question  forming  the 
subject  of  this  chapter,  the  term  "local  street"  is  employed  to  indi- 
cate a  residence  street  designed  to  serve  strictly  local  needs  only — - 
as  opposed  to  streets  destined  to  he  thoroughfares.  If  streets  having 
more  than  a  purely  local  use  were  under  consideration,  the  con- 
clusions offered  >vo])ld  obviously  be  considerably  modified. 


LOCAL  AND  MINOR  STREETS  89 

other  ways,  is  that  of  furnishing  means  of  circulation — in 
the  form  of  either  through  or  local  travel. 

(2)  Two  items  enter  into  the  cost  of  every  street — land 
cost  and  construction  cost.  To  these,  where  heavy  grading 
is  done,  there  is  often  added  a  third  item,  consisting  of 
injury  to  ahutting  property  caused  hy  deep  cuts  and  fills. 

The  chief  mistakes  made  in  the  treatment  of  purely  local 
streets  have  commonly  arisen,  in  the  writer's  opinion,  from  a 
failure  to  discriminate,  with  sufficient  sharpness,  between 
the  traffic,  in  respect  of  both  its  character  and  its  volume, 
to  which  local  streets  are  subjected,  and  that  which  thor- 
oughfares are  called  upon  to  accommodate.  The  result  has 
been  a  failure  properly  to  discriminate  between  the  neces- 
sary requirements  of  the  two.  Purely  local  streets  are  made 
unnecessarily  broad — which  results  in  a  waste  of  valuable 
land.  Without  regard  to  topographical  conditions,  such 
streets  are  laid  down  in  straight  lines,  and  then,  in  order  to 
secure  easy  gradients,  heavy  cuts  and  fills  are  made ;  such 
I)ractice  not  only  adds  greatly  to  the  cost  of  grading,  but  it 
indicts  sometimes  great  and  usually  unnecessary  injury  to 
abutting  pro])erty.  Monotony  and  dreariness  in  the  general 
aspect  of  the  streets  must  also  inevitably  follow  the  execu- 
tion of  a  plan  that  lacks  evidence  of  a  proper  sense  of  dis- 
crimination or  fitness.  Thus,  not  only  are  the  opening  and 
construction  of  streets  made  unnecessarily  expensive,  but 
the  street  i)lan  as  a  wdiole  is  deprived  of  the  attractiveness 
and  interest  that  arise  from  variety  in  plan  and  from  the 
evidence,  where  such  is  shown,  of  an  intelligent  adaptation 
of  means  to  ends. 

Manifestly,  mistakes  of  this  character  in  the  treatment  of 
local  streets  can  be  avoided  oidy  by  keeping  in  mind  both 
the  character  and  the  limited  volume  of  the  travel  that  such 
streets  will  be  called  u])on  to  accommodate. 

Main  thoroughfares,  as  is  everywhere  recognized,  nnist 
be  broad   and   direct,  and   they  must   ha\e   easy  gradients. 


90  CITY  PLANNING 

These  are  usually  expensive  requirements,  but,  where  pos- 
sible, they  must  be  fully  met,  whatever  the  cost  or  the  dam- 
age to  abutting  property.  The  local  street  has  none  of  these 
requirements,  and  while  the  writer  has  seen  many  illustra- 
tions of  the  expense  and  damage  resulting  from  the  practice 
of  laying  out  local  streets  unnecessarily  straight,  unneces- 
sarily broad,  and  with  gradients  needlessly  easy,  he  does  not 
recall  having  ever  observed  a  case  where  the  opposite  rule 
of  practice,  intelligently  applied,  has  resulted  disadvanta- 
geously. 

Width  of  Streets 

The  local  street  need  not  be  broad,  and  to  make  it  so 
incurs  needless  expense  for  grading  and  paving,  as  well  as 
for  land  taken ;  moreover,  if  made  of  a  width  sufficient  only 
for  its  use,  it  acquires  thereby  a  quality  more  distinctively 
domestic — it  is  "cozier"  and  more  attractive.  There  are 
many  successful  instances  where,  in  recognition  of  special 
conditions,  streets  have  been  laid  out  40  feet,  or  less,  in 
width.  Such  streets  illustrate  very  markedly  the  wisdom 
of  freely  departing  from  conventional  ideas  as  to  the  mini- 
mum allowable  width  of  a  street.  In  the  writer's  opinion, 
however,  a  good  width  for  the  typical  local  street,  in  a 
neighborhood  of  the  better  sort,  is  50  feet  over-all,  of  which 
23  feet  may  be  devoted  to  driveway,  leaving  about  13  feet  on 
each  side  for  footway  and  planting.  This  13-foot  space  be- 
tween the  curb  and  the  property  line  will  allow  for  a  paved 
walk  3^  to  434  feet  wide,  a  space  of  2)/  feet  between  the 
walk  and  the  lot  line,  and  from  6  to  7  feet  between  the  walk 
and  curb  for  trees  and  other  planting. 

In  allowing  only  23  feet  for  driveway,  it  is  assumed  that 
the  gutters  will  be  shallow,  the  depth  consisting  practically 
of  that  secured  by  continuing  the  ordinary  crown  of  the 
rond  to  the  curb,  so  that  the  entire  width  between  curbs  can 


LOCAL  AND  MLNOR  STREETS 


91 


be  used  as  driving  space.  Where  gutters  are  constructed  too 
deep  to  be  readily  utilized  as  part  of  the  driving  space,  the 
width  between  the  curbs  should  be  correspondingly  in- 
creased. A  typical  street  of  this  width,  with  subdivisions  of 
the  total  space  as  above  indicated,  is  shown  by  the  accom- 
panying illustration. 


A   Typical   Fifty-koot    Street,    Showixg   Arrangement   of 
Driveway,   Sidewalks  and  Planting   Spaces 

Roland  Park — Guilford  District,  Baltimore 


It  will  be  apparent  that  the  spaces  allowed  respectively 
for  driveway,  walks,  and  planting  spaces  are  reasonably 
ample  for  these  purposes.  If  more  space  for  planting  is 
desired,  the  street  may  with  reason  be  made  wider  for  that 
purpose;  but  on  a  juirely  local  street  to  devote  more  space 
for  (lri\cway  or  walks  than  that  shown  in  the  illustration  is 
worse  than  merely  wasteful ;  the  result  ])rotluced  is  less 
L^atis factory  even  in  point  of  appearance. 


92 


CITY  PLANNING 


Alignment 

To  open  a  street  on  perfectly  straight  lines,  or  even  on 
lines  slightly'  curvilinear,  will  often  result,  not  only  in  high 


A  Street  Shakpi.v  CiRVKn  to  Meet  Locat.  Toi'Ograi'hical  Conditions 
Roland  Park — Guilford  District,  Baltimore 


grading  cost,. but  in  injury  to  almtting  lands,  both  of  wliich 
can  be  largely  avoided  if  it  is  realized  that  it  makes  but  little 


LOCAL  AND  MINOR  STREETS 


93 


difference  how  sharply  curved  the  local  street  may  be,  so 
long  as  its  alignment  is  such  as  to  present  pleasing  per- 
spectives and,  at  the  same  time,  enable  such  street  sensibly 
and  reasonably  to  meet  the  purely  local  need  for  which  it  is 
intended.  Local  streets  may,  therefore,  be  allowed  to  follow 
the  natural  contours  of  the  ground  to  a  much  greater  extent 
than  is  commonly  done.     Offsets,  also,  in  straight  streets 


A  Street  Laid  Out  Along  the  Chest  of  a  Ridge 
Roland  Park — Guilford  District,  Baltimore 


may  frequently  be  desirable,  cither  with  the  practical  object 
of  meeting  some  local  condition,  or  for  the  purpose  of  in- 
terrupting a  street  vista  that  might  otherwise  tend  to 
monotony,  and  of  affording,  at  the  same  time,  the  oppor- 
tunity to  i)lace  at  the  termination  of  such  vista  an  interest- 
ing l)uilding  or  other  architectural  feature.  The  fact  that 
lack  of  directness  in  a  street  tends  to  ])rotect  it  from  through 
travel  is,  moreo\cr,  of  positi\e  advantage  to  a  ])urcly  resi- 
dential street,  and  it  must  1)e  borne  in  mind  tliat  a  street 
so  laid  out  will  be  protected  not  only  from  ordinary  through 


94 


CITY  PLANNING 


traffic,  but  from  car  tracks,  so  often  unwisely  laid  on  streets 
other  than  thoroughfares. 

If  we  continue  to  keep  in  mind  the  limited  requirements 


CiiAKcoTTE  Place 
Roland  Park — Guilford  District,  Baltimore 


of  a  purely  local  street,  it  will  ap})car,  also,  that,  in  many 
places  where  topographic  or  other  conditions  make  it  difficult 
or  undesirable  to  extend  a  street  to  its  intersection  with 
another,  such  streets  may  be  designated  with  "dead  ends," 


LOCAL  AND  MINOR  STREETS 


95 


or  returned  upon  themselves,  forming  "places,"  to  which 
great  charm  is  attached  hy  the  sense  of  privacy  and  seclusion 
which  they  impart.     The  accompanying  cuts  give  illustra- 


COLD  ^PRJNG  LANE. 


Bedford  Place 
Roland  Park — Guilford   District,  Baltimore 

tions  of  streets  thus  "dead  ended,"  or  "places"  formed  by 
this  method  of  treatment. 

It  must  be  stated,  however,  that  in  every  case  here  illus- 
trated the  form  and  location  given  the  street  have  corre- 
sjionded  with  topographic  or  other  surrounding  conditions 
that  constituted  a  prol)leni  for  which  this  ])1an  offered  the 


96  CITY  PLANNING 

best,  or  at  least  an  adequate,  solution,  and  it  must  be  urged 
with  great  emphasis  that  such  justification  must  always  exist 
for  interference  to  the  extent  here  indicated  with  the  circu- 
lation afiForded  by  streets  that  connect  with  each  other  in 
the  usual  manner.  Otherwise,  such  a  treatment  will  be 
merely  freakish,  and  will  be  lacking  in  sanity  and  reason- 
ableness. 


Relation  of  Local  Streets  to  Thoroughfares 

While,  wherever  possible,  reasonably  convenient  com- 
munication with  neighboring  thoroughfares  must  be  pro- 
vided, the  highly  desirable  object  of  preserving  the  local 
street  from  the  invasion  of  through  traffic  will  often  require 
that  this  communication  should  not  be  too  direct,  or  at  least 
too  obvious,  and  in  cases  where  the  tendency  of  traffic  might 
be,  to  some  extent,  to  choose  the  local  street  instead  of  an 
equally  convenient  thoroughfare,  it  will  sometimes  be  de- 
sirable deliberately  to  make  the  communication  between  the 
thoroughfare  and  the  local  street  sufficiently  indirect,  or 
uninviting  to  through  traffic,  to  prevent  such  tendency. 

Gradients 

In  the  same  way  that  directness  is  a  necessity  of  a  thor- 
oughfare but  not  of  a  local  street,  so  it  is  with  easy  gradi- 
ents, and  there  can  be  little  question  of  the  unwisdom  of 
incurring  high  grading  costs  and  injuring  abutting  land  by 
making  heavy  cuts  and  fills  for  the  purpose  of  securing 
gradients  on  local  streets  easier  than  those  demanded  by 
the  requirements  of  the  limited  travel  that  such  streets  will 
be  called  upon  to  accommodate. 

The  question  is  one,  the  solution  of  which  manifestly 
depends,  in  every  case,  upon  local  conditions.     Proper  con- 


LOCAL  AND  MINOR  STREETS  97 

sidcration  of  the  injurious  effect  of  heavy  cuts  or  fills  upon 
abutting  property,  as  well  as  of  the  expense  involved 
thereby,  will  frequently  make  it  appear  advisable  to  accept 
gradients  as  steep  as  15  per  cent,  and  sometimes,  for  short 
distances,  grades  exceeding  15  per  cent  will  be  unhesitat- 
ingly adopted.  Even  on  local  streets,  however,  it  is  unde- 
sirable that  g^radients  as  steep  as  15  per  cent  should  extend 
for  a  distance  of  more  than  400  or  500  feet. 


A   Convertible   Plan 

Our  previous  discussion  has  had  in  mind  streets  so  located 
that  there  could  be  little  or  no  probability  of  any  future 
change  in  their  character  or  use.  The  designer  of  a  street 
plan,  however,  will  frequently  have  to  consider  streets  that 
will  at  first  fall  distinctly  within  the  category  of  "local 
streets,"  and,  humanly  speaking,  will  never  be  needed  as 
main  thoroughfares,  but  which  are  so  located  that  at  some 
future  time  it  may  be  necessary  to  use  them  as  minor  thor- 
oughfares. Such  a  street  should  be  designed  with  a  view  to 
such  possible  conversion.  In  addition  to  modifications  in 
alignment  and  gradients  that  such  consideration  will  ob- 
viously impose,  a  street  of  this  character  must  also  be  given 
a  greater  width  than  is  required  by  a  local  street,  and  an 
arrangement  of  driveway,  planting  spaces  and  sidewalks 
ought  to  be  adopted  that  will  have  in  view  the  possibility  of 
such  a  conversion  at  a  minimum  of  cost  and  of  disarrange- 
ment of  plan.  This  may  consist  of  a  plan  that  provides  for 
a  narrow  driveway,  no  wider  than  will  be  needed  while  the 
street  preserves  its  local  character,  and  for  throwing  the 
space  supplied  by  the  extra  width  of  street  into  that  portion 
of  the  planting  space  that  lies  between  the  curb  and  the 
paved  sidewalk.  The  street  trees  and  the  paved  sidewalks 
are  placed  relatively  near  the  property  lines,  in  the  same  lo- 


98 


CITY  PLANNING 


cations  that  would  have  heen  adopted  for  them  if  it  had  been 
intended  to  construct  a  wide  driveway  in  the  beginning. 


Norwood  Place 
Roland  Park — Guilford  District,  Baltimore 


Such  a  plan  reduces  to  a  minimum  the  difficulties  of  a  sub- 
sequent widening  of  the  driveway. 


LOCAL  AND  MINOR  STREETS 


99 


The  Importance  of   Not  Laying   Out  Local   Streets  Too 
Far  in  Advance 

The  exact  locations  of  the  local  streets  are  of  no  impor- 
tance to  the  general  street  plan.    It  would  be  wise,  therefore, 


Meruyman  Court 
Roland  Park — Guilford  District,  Baltimore 

to  delay  fixing  their  location,  alignment,  gradients,  etc.,  as 
long  as  possible,  in  order  to  be  able  to  take  note  of  changing 
conditions  that  might  affect  questions  of  design. 


100   ■  CITY  PLANNING 

There  is  generally  a  tendency,  however,  for  the  thorough- 
fares of  a  city  to  be  built  on  in  advance  of  any  considerable 
demand  for  the  laying  out  and  opening  of  adjacent  local 
streets.  When  such  a  tendency  becomes  apparent  in  any 
locality,  it  should  be  taken  as  a  warning  by  the  public  offi- 
cials charged  with  the  responsibility  for  the  street  design, 
that  the  time  has  come  to  locate  and  establish  the  lines  of  the 
necessary  connecting  local  streets,  in  order  that  the  erection 
of  buildings  in  locations  proper  for  such  local  streets  may 
not  interfere  with,  or  make  more  expensive,  their  subse- 
quent opening.  The  opening  also  of  purely  local  streets  in 
one  location  will  often  make  it  necessary  to  establish  the 
future  locations  of  connecting  streets  on  adjacent  land 
earlier  than  might  otherwise  be  necessary. 

Such  considerations  will  modify  the  otherwise  desirable 
practice  of  postponing  the  establishment  of  the  lines  of  local 
streets  until  it  is  intended  actually  to  open  and  construct 
them. 

Types  of  Pavement 

The  question  of  the  type  of  pavement  to  be  adopted  in  any 
given  case  is  not,  of  course,  as  important  as  other  questions 
involved  in  the  treatment  of  local  streets,  since  if  mistakes 
are  made  in  this  particular  they  can  subsequently  be  cor- 
rected without  great  cost.  The  same  general  principle, 
however,  of  the  adaptation  of  means  to  end  must  be  kept  in 
mind,  and,  under  present  conditions  of  travel,  usually  leads 
to  the  adoption  of  some  form  either  of  bituminous  macadam 
or  of  concrete  with  a  bituminous  surface,  both  because  such 
pavements  are  comparatively  noiseless  and  much  less  dusty 
than  others,  and  because  in  most  localities  they  are  on  the 
whole  the  most  economical.  An  abundant  and  cheap  supply 
of  a  good  quality  of  gravel  may  in  some  localities  indicate 
this  as  a  material  that  may  be  advantageously  used  for  sur- 


LOCAL  AND  MINOR  STREETS  loi 

facing  local  streets ;  and  the  necessities,  where  they  exist, 
of  reducing  initial  cost,  will,  of  course,  always  impose  their 
own  rule  of  action  in  regard  to  types  of  paving,  as  well  as 
to  other  items  of  street  construction. 


The  Distribution  of  the  Cost  of  Opening  and  Improving 
Local  Streets 

These  costs  should  be  laid  wholly  upon  the  nearby  prop- 
erty— almost  entirely  upon  that  actually  abutting  on  such 
streets.  This  policy  recognizes  the  purely  local  character, 
in  respect  both  of  benefit  and  use,  of  such  streets,  and  gives 
emphasis  to  the  reasonableness  of  the  view  that  in  location, 
in  design,  and  in  methods  of  construction,  the  interests  of 
the  abutting  property  should  be  the  dominating  if  not  the 
sole  consideration. 

The  prices  at  which  developed  land  must  be  sold  depend 
a  good  deal  upon  the  cost  of  development ;  if  what  has  been 
said  in  support  of  the  plea  that  the  local  street  be  laid  out 
solely  with  a  view  to  its  meeting  local  needs  has  shown 
that  the  cost,  in  land  and  construction,  of  a  street  so  de- 
signed will  be  materially  less  than  if  designed  also  to  meet 
other  needs  and  conditions,  it  would  appear  reasonable  to 
suppose  that  the  general  adoption  of  these  methods  would 
be  an  aid  in  the  solution  of  the  problem  of  supplying  cheaper 
land  for  small  and  inexpensive  houses. 

Building  Lines 

A  brief  reference  is  included  in  this  chapter  to  the  subject 
of  building  lines  on  abutting  property,  for  the  reason  that 
the  question  is  connected,  though  indirectly,  with  that  of 
street  widths.  A  building  restriction  requiring  buildings  to 
be  set  back  a  certain  distance  from  the  street,  has  for  its 


I02  CITY  PLANNING 

main  purposes:  (i)  to  secure  privacy  to  the  occupants  of 
the  buikHngs  from  passers-by  on  the  street,  and  (2)  to 
make  more  agreeable  the  appearance  of  the  street  as  a 
whole  by  (a)  imparting  a  general  air  of  spaciousness  and 
(b)  increasing  the  amount  of  visible  greenery.  A  local 
street  requires  less  "set-back"  to  secure  reasonable  privacy 
than  does  a  thoroughfare.  It  will,  however,  be  apparent 
that  if,  as  is  herein  urged,  the  width  of  the  local  street  be 
much  reduced,  there  will  be  a  rather  greater  need  for  set- 
back restrictions  in  order  to  assure  the  preservation  of  a 
reasonable  distance  between  houses  on  opposite  sides  of  the 
street. 

In  concluding  this  discussion  of  the  treatment  of  local 
streets,  it  may  be  added,  by  way  of  reminder,  that  the  ex- 
tent to  which  any  general  rule  of  practice  may  be  carried 
must  always  remain  a  question  of  judgment,  to  be  exercised 
in  each  individual  case.  The  main  object  of  the  writer  has 
been  to  lay  emphasis  upon  the  consideration  that  should  be 
given  to  the  practical  questions  involved  without  their  solu- 
tion being  influenced  by  conventional  ideas  as  to  alignment, 
widths,  and  gradients,  often  followed  without  regard  to  in- 
dividual requirements ;  to  urge,  in  fact,  the  simple  theory 
that  the  treatment  of  every  local  street  is  a  strictly  local 
problem,  and  ought  to  be  dealt  with  as  such. 


CHAPTER   V 
PUr.LIC  BUILDINGS   AND    QUASI-PUBLIC   BUILDINGS 

A  city  in  its  material  expression  cannot  well  be  considered 
apart  from  its  public  buildings,  because  its  active  life  is  so 
closely  bound  up  with  tliem.  Conversely,  tbe  subject  of 
public  buildings  cannot  be  treated  without  reference  to  that 
of  the  city.  Great  distinction  is  given  to  a  city  by  public 
buildings ;  its  significance,  however,  is  extremely  variable 
both  in  its  nature  and  in  its  quality. 

The  government  centers  in  some  capital  cities  have  a  pre- 
dominance so  great,  both  as  to  the  extent  of  the  buildings 
themselves  and  as  to  the  public  ground  forming  their  set- 
ting, that  they  may  be  fairly  considered  as  special  cases.  Of 
such  centers  in  Europe,  Moscow  and  Buda  Pesth  are  strik- 
ing examples.  Equally  striking  examples  on  this  continent 
are  the  cities  of  Washington,  D.  C,  and  Ottawa,  the  capital 
of  Canada. 

The  government  buildings  in  all  these  cities  are  combined 
with  their  natural  sites  to  great  advantage,  and  they  largely 
control  the  effect  of  tiie  cities  themselves.  In  the  case  of  the 
European  examples,  at  least,  they  dominate  them  to  the  ex- 
clusion of  cverytliing  else.  It  is  true,  also,  of  the  latter  that 
they  represent  conditions  of  greater  permanence  than  with 
us,  owing  to  an  inherent  sense  in  the  pul)hc  mind  of  the 
]:)rimary  importance  of  government  as  distinguished  from 
private  buikhngs. 

The  significance  of  a  group  of  public  buildings  unsup- 
])orted  by  striking  natural  features  of  the  ground  may  be 

103 


104  CITY  PLANNING 

also  very  great  in  a  city.  The  Place  de  la  Concorde  in 
Paris,  with  its  surrounding  buildings  and  those  of  the  Tuil- 
eries,  is  an  example,  and  it  is  certainly  the  finest  in  the 
world.  Again,  it  may  be  a  question  of  the  controlling  effect 
of  a  single  building,  such  as  the  Palais  de  Justice  at  Brussels. 
Thus  we  have  a  wide  range  to  consider ;  all  the  way  from 
the  dominant  masses  of  buildings  referred  to  above  down 
to  a  single  striking  unit. 

It  is  of  first  importance  to  provide  the  necessary  area  for 
expansion  of  public  buildings  to  meet  growth  and  its  re- 
quirements, and  of  equal  importance  so  to  plan  such  an  area 
that  the  greatest  advantage  may  be  taken  of  it,  both  as  to 
economy  and  as  to  the  effect  of  the  buildings  and  the 
grounds  themselves. 

Lack  of  foresight  in  acquiring  sufficient  area  means  un- 
necessarily great  expenditures  in  the  future.  The  lack  of 
planning  means  also  waste,  in  the  sense  that  the  work  car- 
ried out  has  too  often  to  be  replaced,  being  not  only  inade- 
quate, but  so  distributed  as  to  require  its  removal  for  im- 
provements of  a  proper  nature.  In  other  words,  the  work 
involved  in  the  placing  of  a  group  is  never  done  until  it  is 
done  properly.  The  demand  for  orderly  and  beautiful  sur- 
roundings and  for  economy  in  arrangement  is  growing  daily 
in  this  country.  One  generation  owes  it  to  the  next  to  estab- 
lish conditions  of  relative  permanence,  and  if  the  next  is  to 
share  to  any  extent  the  cost  of  carrying  out  a  scheme,  then  it 
is  incumbent  on  the  forerunning  generation  to  provide  a 
scheme  which  will  be  of  fine  quality  and  adequate  to  the  fu- 
ture needs. 

To  the  subject  in  hand  properly  belongs  the  consideration 
of  national  government  buildings,  of  state  capitol  buildings, 
and  of  municij)al  and  quasi-public  buildings  which  are 
bound  up  naturally  with  the  life  of  a  city.  Having  regard, 
however,  to  the  limitations  of  space,  consideration  will  be 
g'wQU  chiefly  to  municipal  buildings  and  such  buildings  as 


PUBLIC  AND  QUASI-PUBLIC  BUILDINGS       105 

l)elong  with  them  or  may  be  grouped  with  them  to  ad- 
vantage. To  national  government  and  state  capitol  buildings 
the  principles  to  be  stated  later  on,  as  go\'erning  the  com- 
l>osition  of  nuuu'cipal  groups,  may  be  said  to  apply  ccpially. 

Public  buildings  may  be  truly  said  to  be  the  representation 
in  ideal  form  of  community  ideals ;  they  should  typify  its 
permanence,  and  should  be  "what  the  Acropolis  was  to 
Athens  or  the  Forum  to  Rome  and  Saint  Marks  Square  was 
to  Venice,  the  free  embodiment  of  civic  life."  That  these 
ideals  exist  in  the  public  mind,  though  too  often  ill  ex- 
I)ressed,  is  evidenced  by  the  tendency  to  the  use  of  the  styles 
of  architecture  that  most  projDcrly  may  he  termed  of  classic 
or  universal  character.  This  tendency  is  responsible  today 
for  the  striking  anomaly  of  one-  and  two-story  public  build- 
ings, contrasted  with  surrounding  great  commercial  struc- 
tures, a  tendency,  however,  which  will  require  only  time  for 
proper  adjustment.  This  adjustment  will  come  with  the 
recognition  that  the  essential  in  composition  is  that  there  be 
architectural  style,  rather  than  a  particular  style. 

In  this  chapter,  however,  the  discussion  involves  primarily 
the  relations  of  public  buildings  to  the  streets  and  the  gen- 
eral composition  of  the  city,  rather  than  the  specific  qualities 
of  the  buildings  themselves. 


Location  of  Purltc  Buildings 

First  in  importance  is  the  location  of  public  buildings 
with  regard  to  the  city  as  a  whole.  They  may  l)e  grouped 
in  one  center  or  they  may  be  grouped  in  various  centers,  ac- 
cording to  the  plan  of  the  city.  They  are  rightly  placed 
when  grouped  in  locations  that  will  satisfy  economic  condi- 
tions, and  when  they  are  readily  accessible  to  the  pul)lic. 

As  the  chief  factor  in  this  (|uesli()n  is  tliat  of  the  growth  of 
a  city,  it  may  be  stated  as  a  fir^l  principle  that  the  location  of 


io6  CITY  PLANNING 

public  groups  should  be  chosen  with  reference  to  the  ex- 
pansion of  the  city.  Municipal  buildings,  municipal  courts, 
halls  of  record,  etc.,  naturally  find  a  place  adjacent  to  or  in 
the  heart  of  the  business  district.  Customs  houses  and  post- 
offices  belong  naturally  with  the  railway  or  waterway  termi- 
nals or  at  other  transportation  centers.  The  law  courts  in 
general  may  find  a  location  together  with  public  libraries, 
auditoriums,  and  other  buildings  of  a  similar  nature  on  the 
fringe  of  a  business  district,  if  not  within  the  residential  dis- 
trict— in  any  case,  some,  hat  aloof  from  the  turmoil  of  the 
downtown  center. 

Happily,  the  general  character  of  the  buildings  of  the 
various  groups  suggested  is  readily  adjusted  to  the  sur- 
rounding conditi  ns  in  each  case;  it  demands  simply  that 
the  program  of  requirements  be  followed  in  their  design. 
Thus,  the  municipal  building  may  be  made  to  harmonize 
readib  nth  the  buildings  of  the  business  district,  a  case 
wel'  iiustrated  by  the  New  York  Municipal  Building,  the 
City  Hall  of  Chicago  and  the  City  Hall  of  Oakland,  Cal. 
Thus,  also,  the  post-office  or  customs  building  harmonizes 
in  expression  with  the  architecture  of  the  wholesale  and 
light  industry  districts,  a  case  which  is  illustrated  by  the 
federal  buildings  in  Boston  and  in  San  Francisco.  Finally, 
the  law  courts  may  be  readily  harmonized  with  the  less 
densely  built  districts,  or  such  districts  as  may  be  controlled 
in  their  architectural  expression  with  regard  to  height  lim- 
itation. Its  more  monumental  architecture,  also,  may  so 
find  dominance  in  its  expression.  The  examples  cited  of 
the  municipal  buildings  may  truly  be  said  to  be  exceptional, 
owing  to  the  size  of  the  cities  they  represent.  The  state- 
ment, however,  in  a  general  way  will  be  found  to  be  true  of 
cities  of  a  more  moderate  size. 

It  may  be  remarked  here  that  transportation  by  rail  and 
water,  although  bearing  a  strong  relation  to  such  buildings 
as  post-offices  and  other  federal  buildings,  has  little  or  no 


o 


PUBLIC  AND  QUASI-PUBLIC  BUILDINGS        107 

influence  on  the  location  of  the  buildings  constituting  the 
other  groups.  AccessibiHty  to  the  whole  city,  however,  in 
their  case  is  of  the  greatest  importance. 

As  before  stated,  the  location  of  public  buildings  is  bound 
up  with  the  general  structure  of  the  city.  This  means  that 
it  is  bound  up  directly  with  the  street  system,  and  the  sys- 
tems of  transportation  as  governed  by  the  street  system. 
While  the  groups  may  be  advantageously  placed  on  promi- 
nent streets  in  a  rectangular  system  or  composed  with 
principal  intersections  in  the  system  of  streets,  yet  for  the 
more  important  groups  the  ideal  location  is  that  at  a  focus 
of  many  streets. 

Such  a  point  in  the  city  plan  will  give  the  maximum  op- 
portunities of  accessibility  from  all  directions ;  also,  the 
maximum  opportunity  for  architectural  effect  of  the  public 
buildings  and  for  their  development  with  regard  to  the 
streets  themselves,  and  with  regard  to  the  plazas  composed 
by  their  intersections.  A  focus  of  this  nature  may  be  in- 
land, or  it  may  have  reference  to  a  river  or  lake  front,  the 
latter  being  perhaps  the  finest  of  all. 

There  is  an  economic  advantage  in  the  concentration  of 
transportation  lines  and  arteries  of  circulation  towards  one 
or  more  focal  points.  It  is  possible,  also,  by  the  concentra- 
tion of  sites  of  buildings  in  one  or  more  general  locations, 
to  combine  the  otherwise  scattered  and  ineffective  pieces  of 
land,  which  must,  in  any  case,  be  used  as  a  setting  for  in- 
dividual buildings,  into  a  space  which  not  only  will  be  useful 
for  circulation  of  traffic  at  the  center  proposed,  but  will  give 
a  more  ample  setting  to  the  buildings  so  placed. 

Again,  the  buildings  themselves  may  be  so  related  by 
harmonious  design  that  they  will  create  an  effect  which 
cannot  be  accomj)lislied  in  the  case  of  a  single  or  isolated 
l)uil(ling.  \\"\{h  one  or  two,  or  ])ossibly  three,  centers  estal)- 
lishcd  in  tlie  city,  an  administrative  center,  an  educational 
center,  an  art  center,  a  transjwrtation  and  mailing  center,  or 


io8  CITY  PLANNING 

various  combinations  of  any  two  of  these  elements,  a  plan 
may  be  evolved  which,  without  attempting  to  mass  all  public 
or  semi-public  buildings  in  one  spot,  will  have  the  advantage 
of  reasonable  concentration,  a  plan  that  will  be  of  public 
benefit  and  will  wield  the  influence  so  paramount  in  these 
days  of  orderly  and  harmonious  arrangement. 

It  is  unnecessary,  however,  to  enlarge  upon  the  questions 
of  desirability  of  the  grouping  of  public  buildings.  The 
practice  is  recognized  as  absolute  in  the  old  world,  and  it  is 
fast  reaching  recognition  in  this  country  as  evidenced  by 
the  numerous  plans  of  this  nature  now  being  prepared  for 
the  cities  here.  The  greater  number  of  the  large  cities  are 
proposing  in  one  way  or  another  to  create  a  civic  center  or 
group  of  public  buildings. 

The  approaches  to  civic  groups  must  be  carefully  studied, 
and  every  attention  given  to  the  relation  of  the  buildings  to 
the  vistas  from  the  streets.  Markers  should  control  these 
vistas.  The  composition  or  arrangement  of  the  buildings 
themselves  is  vital ;  normality  of  the  dominant  building  to 
governing  natural  lines  or  to  main  axial  lines  should  be 
strictly  observed. 

In  general,  it  may  be  said  that  these  groups  should  be 
placed  naturally  ;  that  they  must  be  in  a  scale  and  proportion 
harmonious  with  the  city,  and  be  integral  parts  of  it;  that 
they  are  never  so  fine  as  when  properly  placed  as  to  the 
natural  surroundings,  and  when  the  architecture  is  con- 
trasted with  appropriate  foliage.  Also  there  must  be  a 
subordination  of  the  masses  to  some  one  dominant  note, 
or  a  fine  general  equality  in  the  ele'ment  of  the  composi- 
tion. 

Tine  Sites  of  Pur.Lic  Buildings 

It  has  been  tlie  common  practice  in  this  country  to  place 
a  public  building  in  the  center  of  a  square  of  ground,  allow- 


PUBLIC  AND  QUASI-PUBLIC  BUILDINGS        109 

ing  a  more  or  less  ample  setting  for  the  building.  As  a  rule, 
such  a  square  is  surrounded  by  public  thoroughfares  of 
approximately  equal  frontage  value,  and  of  growing  im- 
portance— streets  which  become,  as  time  goes  on,  built  up 
with  a  heterogeneous  collection  of  private  business  blocks. 
Into  these  buildings,  or  others  still  less  conveniently  located, 
the  public  offices  usually  expand  with  the  growing  needs  of 
the  various  departments  for  increased  space.  Otherwise, 
additions  are  made  to  the  public  building,  in  most  cases  sym- 
metrical in  its  plan,  with  very  bad  results.  Ultimately  the 
public  building  may  be  rebuilt.  In  most  cases  it  then  occu- 
pies to  its  limit  the  available  space  in  the  square.  Beyond 
this  limit  the  expansion  of  the  building  or  buildings  is  diffi- 
cult, if  not  impossible,  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  surround- 
ing streets  separate  the  public  square  from  adjacent  prop- 
erty, and  that  the  property  values  themselves  are  high. 

Another  common  practice  is  to  select  a  site  on  a  principal 
thoroughfare.  The  site  of  a  public  building  imder  such 
conditions  is  open  to  most  of  the  objections  brought  against 
the  public  square.  It  has  no  reasonable  means  of  expansion. 
The  building  becomes  an  obstruction  to  the  continuity  of 
business  occupancy,  and  other  sites  for  public  buildings  or 
for  the  accommodation  of  departments  of  city  government, 
no  longer  available  in  the  original  building,  have  to  be  se- 
lected in  other  parts  of  the  city. 

These  pl^ns  are  oljviously  bad,  both  in  the  sense  that  they 
arc  uneconomic,  and  in  that  the  results  achieved  are  not 
worth  while.  A  well-selected  site  allows  for  expansion  of 
the  building  or  group  of  buildings  in  one  or  more  directions. 
This  condition  can  only  be  realized  by  the  selection  of  the 
site  after  a  careful  study  of  a  city's  existing  structure,  of 
its  street  lay-out.  and  of  its  tendencies  and  rate  of  growth. 
The  site  must  be  such  that  it  will  not  lie  in  the  immediate 
jxith  of  the  expansion  of  business,  or.  if  so,  that  it  will  1)C 
sufficiently  removed  in  point  of  view  of  distance  to  make  its 


no  CITY  PLANNING 

interference  negligible.  To  accomplish  this  the  street  plan 
of  existing  cities  may  sometimes  have  to  be  modified. 

If  the  program  be  a  limited  one,  requiring  a  moderate 
area,  a  site  occupying  the  whole  of  one  side  of  a  square — 
economic  conditions  being  right — is  good.  The  building  or 
buildings,  if  they  be  simple  as  to  their  mass  and  regular  in 
design,  may  at  least  control  the  square  and  give  it  a  monu- 
mental quality.  The  Boston  Public  Library  on  Copley 
Square,  the  City  Hall  of  Antwerp,  situated  on  the  Grand 
Place,  and  the  Piazza  del  Plebiscito  in  Naples  are  examples 
of  this  arrangement.  An  expansion  of  the  buildings  can  be 
made  with  reasonable  facility,  by  extending  the  site  in  the 
rear  and  leaving  the  chief  frontage  undisturbed. 

Again,  a  site  on  a  thoroughfare  is  not  necessarily  bad. 
If  economic  conditions  are  met — that  is  to  say,  business  is 
not  obstructed — and  the  building  program  is  sufficiently  ex- 
tensive, very  interesting  architectural  results  may  be  had. 
The  group  should  take  the  form  of  a  succession  of  similar 
or  related  units.  The  minor  spaces  between  them  will  be 
controlled  by  their  architecture,  and  the  opposing  frontage 
of  private  structures,  even  if  not  controlled  as  to  their  archi- 
tecture, will  be  at  least  dominated  by  the  regularity  of  the 
lines  and  unity  of  composition  of  the  public  buildings.  An 
interesting  example  of  this  exists  in  the  public  buildings, 
art  museum,  etc.,  of  the  city  of  Liverpool,  lining  one  side  of 
a  thoroughfare. 

It  is  true  that  this  example  adds  to  its  advantages,  in  part, 
an  open  frontage  on  the  square.  It  is  of  interest  to  call 
attention  to  St.  George's  Hall  fronting  on  this  square,  al- 
though practically  within  it,  as  an  example  of  the  dominance 
of  one  single  unit  of  monumental  design  with  buildings  of 
a  heterogeneous  nature  on  at  least  two  of  its  sides.  The 
cxam])le  of  Liverpool,  presenting  many  phases  of  the  prob- 
lem, as  viewed  from  various  standpoints,  is  of  value  in  con- 
nection with  the  studv  of  American  cities,  the  conditions  of 


PUBLIC  AND  QUASI-PUBLIC  BUILDINGS        in 

which  are  so  similar,  owing  to  an  early  lack  of  appreciation 
of  the  value  of  perfect  order.  This  example,  irregular  as  it 
may  be,  and  presenting  two  distinct  compositions,  although 
blackened  Ijy  the  smoke  of  an  industrial  and  business  center, 
has,  nevertheless,  a  certain  charm  and  magnificence. 

The  group  plan  surrounding  or  controlling  a  public  space 
may  be  said  to  be  the  ideal  plan.  Arguments  need  not  be 
presented  to  demonstrate  the  quality  that  may  be  attained 
in  the  composition  of  a  group  of  buildings  of  a  balanced 
nature  on  a  regular  axis,  and  with  a  dominant  central  note. 
Ikiildings  thus  placed  naturally  complement  one  another, 
and,  although  the  problem  of  design  is  one  of  great  com- 
plexity, in  that  it  deals  with  various  units,  the  opportunity  of 
fine  results  is  consequently  greatly  enhanced.  By  acquiring 
sufficient  area  in  the  proper  location,  such  a  plan  may  be  car- 
ried out  in  one  or  more  centers. 

The  above  considerations  are  of  great  weight  at  the  pres- 
ent time.  Building  operations  in  this  country  have  become 
of  a  more  permanent  character,  and  design  is  greatly  im- 
proved. The  growth  of  cities  and  the  public  necessities  are 
being  given  study,  and  the  basis  exists  for  a  reasonable  fore- 
cast of  future  conditions ;  also,  improved  building  regula- 
tions and  the  regulations  for  the  control  of  height  and 
frontage  are  being  considered.  Under  these  circumstances, 
the  matter  of  contrast  of  public  and  private  buildings  will 
become  less  acute,  and  conditions  of  an  ideal  nature  may 
be  brought  about. 

The  city  of  Detroit  may  be  cited  as  one  among  many  ex- 
amples, in  embryo;  of  the  grouping  of  buildings  as  outlined 
above.  The  system  of  streets  may  be  said  to  relate  to  three 
centers — the  center  of  administration,  of  transportation,  and 
of  art  and  letters.  Transportation  will  be  centered  around 
a  union  station  now  completed.  In  front  a  fine  plaza  is 
l)roi)osed,  and  from  it  will  start  a  new  diagonal  street  car- 
ried across  the  city  to  the  center  of  arts  and  letters.     Atten- 


112  CITY  PLANNING 

tion  has  been  focused  on  this  center  of  arts  and  letters, 
which  is  to  be  created  on  Woodward  Avenue.  Twenty-nine 
acres  of  land,  including  streets,  have  been  acquired,  fronting 
on  both  sides  of  the  avenue — on  the  one  hand  for  the  library, 
already  built,  and  on  the  other  for  the  art  museum  and 
subsidiary  buildings.  The  City  Hall  is  located  in  the  heart 
of  the  business  center,  and  the  courts  are  on  its  fringe. 

The  city  of  Minneapolis  is  an  excellent  example.  Here, 
also,  the  centers  are  subdivided — that  of  transportation 
being  practically  permanent  as  at  present  located.  A  com- 
plete scheme  for  the  grouping  of  the  civic  buildings  has 
been  designed  in  anticipation  of  the  growth  of  the  city  and 
of  the  business  center.  It  should  include  administrative 
buildings,  law  courts,  auditorium,  public  library,  etc.  The 
Court  House,  however,  is  adequate  for  the  present  needs 
of  both  the  law  courts  and  the  offices  of  the  city  adminis- 
tration. The  separation  of  the  law  courts  and  their  recon- 
struction at  the  new  center  are  proposed  in  the  future, 
thus  allowing  the  present  building  to  be  used  for  the  ad- 
ministrative offices  alone,  in  close  conjunction  to  the  busi- 
ness center. 

The  center  of  transportation  is  at  the  meeting  of  the 
main  thoroughfares  at  the  river,  the  natural  focus  of  both 
railways  and  traction  lines.  One  section  of  a  union  station 
has  been  built  by  the  Northern  Pacific  road  ;  legislation  has 
been  obtained  enabling  the  city  to  construct  the  remainder, 
and  to  compel  other  railroads  to  enter  the  station. 

An  art  center  has  also  been  started  by  the  building  of  a 
portion  of  an  art  museum.  The  site  is  ample  for  a  most 
com})lete  art  school  and  museum ;  and  adjacent  sites  are 
available  for  other  buildings. 

The  municipal  center  proposed  and  herewith  presented, 
illustrates  the  principles  of  composition  already  outlined, 
both  with  regard  to  its  location,  its  control  of  a  comi)lete 
pnl)Hc   square,   and    its   future  expansion. 


> 


PUBLIC  AND  QUASI-PUBLIC  BUILDINGS        113 
Relative  Nature  and  Design  of  Buildings 

In  thinking  of  the  interesting  plazas  or  pubHc  groups 
abroad,  both  in  the  smaller  cities  and  in  the  larger 
ones,  tlie  mind  is  filled  with  impressions  of  the  limit- 
less number  of  charming  examples  in  which  the  domi- 
nant note  is  a  religious  building.  It  is  not  the  purpose, 
however,  to  discuss  this  phase  of  the  question,  but  simply 
to  note  the  similarity  between  the  church  and  low  public 
buildings  in  their  changing  relations  to  the  city.  Although 
at  times  forming  the  dominant  note  through  a  composition 
or  an  accidental  effect,  it  can  rarely  compete  with  the  height 
or  mass  of  modern  structures.  It  should,  therefore,  con- 
form rather  to  the  general  spirit  of  the  architecture  of  the 
day,  and  gain  distinction  by  fineness  and  simplicity  of  form. 

Formerly  public  buildings  may  fairly  be  said  to  have 
represented  the  height  of  achievement  of  constructive 
science,  as  well  as  of  artistic  expression.  In  this  they  were 
rivaled  only  by  the  church  and  were  often  excelled  by  it. 
Such  conditions  existed  in  this  country  until  the  advent  of 
skeleton  steel  construction.  A  great  impulse  to  the  build- 
ing of  tall  structures  was  then  given,  and,  with  the  natural 
clinging  to  old  or  recognized  monumental  types  of  buildings, 
anomalous  conditions  were  created.  The  public  building, 
like  the  church,  has  been  submerged  by  the  flood  of  business 
blocks.  Excess  and  pretension  in  the  expression  of  a  great 
portion  of  these  commercial  structures,  for  the  most  part 
uncontrolled,  have  added  to  this  condition. 

Under  the  influence  of  economic  pressure  and  perhaps, 
also,  of  the  daily  impressions  on  the  public  mind  of  the 
magnificc!it  and  conipelliug,  though  accidental,  eft^ects  in 
the  grouping  of  the  commercial  blocks,  a  reaction  is  being 
brought  about. 

At  this  time  certain  types  of  public  buildings  are  rivaling 
in  proportions  the  greatest  of  commercial  structures.     Of 


114  CITY  PLANNING 

these,  the  most  striking  examples  have  already  been  men- 
tioned. They  are  largely  the  resultant  of  considerations 
of  economy,  of  the  value  of  the  site.  The  problem  involved 
in  these  buildings  is  similar  in  nature  to  that  of  everyday 
business  life. 

A  natural  selection  is  in  process  with  regard  to  our 
public  buildings.  While  certain  of  them,  of  an  office  build- 
ing nature,  demanding  the  ordinary  accommodations  of  an 
office  building,  are  being  absorbed  into  the  mass  of  the 
commercial  downtown  district,  others  are  still  obeying  in 
their  expression  the  tendency  to  more  formal  and  archi- 
tectural lines,  controlled  in  their  architectural  expression  by 
the  program  of  their  requirements  and  the  function  of  the 
building.  The  latter  are  preferably  located  on  the  fringe 
of  business,  but,  it  is  to  be  admitted,  must  sometimes  be 
placed  in  the  very  center. 

Herein  lies  the  interesting  com])arison  of  the  two  cate- 
gories of  public  buildings ;  those  which  cannot  vie  in  verti- 
cal mass  with  commercial  buildings  and  must,  by  reason 
of  their  function,  find  distinction  by  strength  of  design  in 
contrast  to  their  surroundings,  and  those  which  may  vie 
with  their  surroundings,  and  seek  to  attain  distinction  by 
domination  of  outline.  It  is  fair  to  say  that  the  opportuni- 
ties for  preponderance  of  effect  along  sound  lines  of  com- 
position are  very  great  for  our  public  Imildings  in  the  fu- 
ture, both  within  and  without  our  great  business  centers — 
oj)portunities  of  similarity  and  contrast. 

In  both  these  cases  the  question  of  control  of  private 
buildings,  both  as  to  height  and  design,  conies  very  largely 
into  play  and  is  strongly  to  be  urged,  especially  where 
buildings  are  all  merged  on  a  level  ])lane  and  there  are  no 
advantages  to  be  gained  by  topogra])liical  conditions. 

A  composition  of  buildings  al)OUt  a  public  square  has 
been  dcscriljcd  as  the  ideal  plan.  The  ideal  public  l)uil(ling 
within  a  city  center  is  one  which  satisfies  the  economic  ne- 


1'l  \n    ui 


nil    J'Kdi'osfD  Civic    Ci\'iir,   Eiiiion^i  xc.   Law  Coikts,  Audi- 
TOKiiM,    Ffiii.ic  LiiiRARv,   Etc.,   Mi.wiiAi'oi.is 


PUBLIC  AND  QUASI-PUBLIC  BUILDINGS        115 

cessities  and,  ■  while  clearly  expressing  its  function,  yet 
dominates  its  surroundings  by  an  architecture  of  accepted 
monumental  forms.  An  example  of  such  a  building  con- 
structed in  recent  times  is  the  City  Hall  of  San  Francisco. 
Such,  in  a  general  way  and  very  briefly  sketched,  is  the 
subject  of  public  buildings.  The  special  cases  are  innumer- 
able. In  all  cases,  however,  the  problems  must  be  studied 
with  regard  to  the  conditions  of  the  city  as  a  whole,  and 
of  civic  growth.  The  conditions  in  modern  times  are  such 
as  to  require  a  recognized  general  scheme  of  development 
of  public  buildings  and  of  the  city  as  a  whole.  And  recog- 
nition must  be  given,  on  the  one  hand,  to  the  conditions 
of  economy,  and  on  the  other,  to  those  of  the  fine  expres- 
sion of  civic  ideals. 

Bibliography 

AcKERMAN,  Frederick  L.  City  Planning  and  Civic  Design. 
Proceedings  of  Seventh  National  Conference  on  City  Plan- 
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Adshead,  S.  D.  Civic  Design:  An  Inaugural  Lecture  Deliv- 
ered at  the  University  of  Liverpool.  Published  by  the 
University  of  Liverpool,  Liverpool,   1909.     23  pp. 

Art  and  Life,  and  the  Building  and  Decoration  of  Cities.  Lon- 
don, 1897.  ^60  PP-  -^  series  of  lectures  l)y  menil)ers  of  the 
Arts  and  Crafts  I^xhibition  Society,  delivered  at  the  fifth 
exhibition,  in  1896.  Ch.  IV,  Puljlic  Spaces,  Parks  and 
Gardens,  by  Reginald  Bloomfield. 

Baxter,  Sylvester.  The  Civic  Center;  a  Dominant  yFsthetic 
Feature.  Charities  and  the  Commons,  February  i,  1908, 
pp.  1 502- 1 504. 

Bonnier,  Louis.  Notes  on  the  Regulations  Governing  the  Plan- 
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Transactions,  Royal  Institute  of  British  Architects,  Town 
Planning  Conference,  1910,  pp.  208-232. 

Bkinckmann,  a.  E.  Platz  und  Monument.  Untersuchungcn 
zur  Gcschichte  und  Asthetik  dcr  .Stadtbaukunst  in  neuerer 
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ii6  CITY  PLANNING 

Burn  HAM  and  Bennett.  Plan  of  Chicago.  Edited  by  Chas. 
Moore.  Published  by  the  Commercial  Club  of  Chicago, 
1907. 

CARRiiRE,  John  M.  City  Improvement  from  the  Artistic  Stand- 
point. Municipal  Art  Society  of  Hartford,  Connecticut, 
Bulletin  No.  7.     Hartford,  1908.     19  pp. 

Cleveland  Board  of  Supervision  for  Public  Buildings  and 
Grounds.  The  Group  Plan  of  the  Public  Buildings  of  the 
City  of  Cleveland.  Report  made  to  the  mayor  and  board 
of  public  service  by  D.  H.  Burnham,  J.  M.  Carrere,  A, 
W.  Brunner.  Second  edition  with  supplement  indicating 
the  progress  of  the  improvement.    Cleveland,  1907.    20  pp. 

Day,  F.  M.  The  Location  of  Public  Buildings  in  Parks  and 
Other  Public  Open  Spaces.  Proceedings  of  Third  National 
Conference  on  City  Planning,  191 1,  pp.  53-58. 

Duquesne,  E.  J.  A.  and  others.  The  Future  Development  of 
Harvard  Square  and  Its  Neighborhood.  Cambridge,  1913. 
24  pp. 

Flagg,  Ernest.  Public  Buildings.  Proceedings  of  Third  Na- 
tional Conference  on  City  Planning,  191 1,  pp.  42-52. 

Ford,  F.  L.,  compiler.  The  Grouping  of  Public  Buildings. 
Municipal  Art  Society  of  Hartford.  Bulletin  no.  2.  Hart- 
ford, 1904.     86  pp. 

Frankfort-on-the-Main.  Guide  to  Some  of  the  Public  Works. 
Published  by  the  City  Engineer's  Department,  Frankfort, 
1907.     79  pp. 

New  York  City.  Art  Commission.  Laws  Relating  to  Art 
Commissions.     New  York,   1914.     53  pp. 

Simpson,  John.  ^Esthetics  and  Police  Power:  Laws  Recog- 
nizing Right  of  City  to  Control  Esthetic  Appearance  of 
Streets;  Regulating  Height  of  Buildings;  Advertising 
Signs.  Municipal  Journal  and  Engineer,  xxvii,  July  7, 
1909,  p.  15.  ' 


CHAPTER   VI 

NEIGHBORHOOD   CENTERS 

The  neighborhood  center  is  the  group  of  buildings  and 
grounds  in  which  provision  is  made  for  the  various  c(kica- 
tional,  recreational,  and  social  functions  of  the  city.  It  may 
fairly  be  considered  to  concern,  as  far  as  anything  out  of 
the  home  can,  that  portion  of  our  lives  v^hich  is  beyond 
such  absolute  necessities  of  existence  as  safe  and  convenient 
places  to  eat,  sleep,  and  work — that  is,  our  mental,  moral, 
and  physical  upbuilding. 

In  the  planning  of  a  city  all  municipal  services  fall  nat- 
urally under  one  or  the  other  of  two  heads :  general,  serv- 
ing the  entire  city,  and  special  or  local,  serving  restricted 
neighborhoods  and  repeated  in  successive  districts.  This 
division  is  particularly  important  in  the  consideration  of  the 
group  of  public  and  semi-public  activities  which  make  for 
cultural  progress  and  civic  welfare.  For  the  most  part, 
these  provisions  will  be  designed  to  serve  a  surrounding 
district  of  limited  area  only,  the  size  of  which  will  be  gov- 
erned principally  by  the  maximum  distance  that  people  will 
go  to  take  advantage  of  them. 

A  comprehensive  city  plan  must  ])c  adopted  if  a  city  is 
to  provide  adequate  neighborhood  centers  where  they  are 
needed  throughout  its  area.  Unless  such  a  plan  is  fol- 
lowed, the  best  suited  land  will  not  be  acquired  in  advance 
of  building  and  the  corresponding  increase  in  land  values; 
and  this  delay  will  inevitably  force  cramped  facilities,  often 
j)oorly  placed  in  relation  to  the  district  to  be  served,  and 

117 


ii8  CITY  PLANNING 

costing  far  more  than  if  land  were  taken  in  advance.  For 
example,  whereas,  in  New  York,  Central  Park  cost  but 
$5,028,844  or  less  than  $15,000  per  acre,  three  small  down- 
town parks,  purchased  fifty  years  later,  after  they  had 
been  densely  covered  with  buildings,  cost  $5,232,363  or 
over  $500,000  per  acre.  Figures  elsewhere,  though  not  so 
startling,  are  equally  conclusive. 

Public  facilities  gain  in  dignity,  convenience,  and  econ- 
omy if  grouped,  instead  of  being  scattered,  regardless  of 
one  another,  throughout  the  district  they  serve.  This  is 
especially  true  of  the  educational,  recreational  and  social 
elements  of  the  city  plan.  Not  only  is  the  architectural 
effect  of  buildings  greatly  enhanced  by  their  becoming 
units  of  a  large  composition,  and  by  being  visible  across 
the  necessary  open  spaces  at  a  far  more  effective  angle  than 
when  seen  merely  along  a  street,  but,  of  far  greater  im- 
portance, the  service  rendered  is  vastly  increased,  both 
through  the  economical  interlocking  of  the  various  facilities 
in  such  an  arrangement,  and  especially  through  the  in- 
creased use  apt  to  be  made  of  a  single  comprehensive  plant 
in  contrast  with  scattered  units,  each  of  which  must  be 
sought  separately.  Looked  at  in  this  way,  the  neighbor- 
hood center  properly  constitutes  a  single  ])lant  which  serves 
the  needs  of  all  ages  from  the  play  of  the  youngest  child 
to  the  quiet  reading  of  the   elder  citizens. 

There  are,  however,  limits  to  the  effective  grouping  of 
neighborhood  activities,  largely  due  to  the  variation  in  the 
size  of  the  district  served.  Thus,  children  of  school  age 
are  often  required  to  attend  school  from  a  radius  of  a  mile 
or  more,  whereas  neither  the  little  children  nor  adults  are 
likely  to  be  attracted  with  any  frequency  to  playgrounds 
or  social  centers  more  than  a  fraction  of  that  distance  away. 
j\Toreover,  since  certain  minimum  provisions  must  be  made, 
the  element  of  cost  is  also  closely  bound  up  in  the  determi- 
nation of  the  proper  size  of  districts  to  be  served  :  for  ex- 


NEIGHBORHOOD  CENTERS  119 

ample,  swimming  pools  must  be  of  at  least  a  certain  length 
and  corresponding  cost,  or  else  they  will  fail  of  their  pur- 
pose entirely  through  not  quite  meeting  the  needs  for  which 
they  are  supposed  to  be  designed.  On  the  other  hand,  to 
justify  any  service,  it  must  be  utilized  or  at  least  encourage 
utilization  fairly  close  to  its  maximum  capacity.  The  swim- 
ming pool  referred  to  must  be  used  or  anticipate  being 
used  at  some  time  practically  every  day  by  a  very  consid- 
erable number  of  people,  or  else  the  per  capita  cost  of  the 
service  will  be  exorbitant. 

The  propriety  of  grouping  the  neighborhood  center  with 
certain  other  public  property,  such  as  fire  and  police  sta- 
tions, has  been  questioned  on  the  more  or  less  obvious 
grounds  of  noise,  distraction,  and  moral  effect.  On  the 
other  hand,  local  municipal  halls  and  particularly  voting 
places  are  most  appropriately  placed  in  it,  as  the  center 
should  typify  in  every  possible  way  the  community  interests. 
Quasi-public  buildings,  such  as  churches  and  clubs,  will 
benefit  by  association  with  the  open  group  of  neighborhood 
center  buildings,  while  on  the  nearby  thoroughfares,  if  the 
site  is  well  chosen,  theatres,  cafes,  and  similar  buildings  will 
naturally  be  erected. 

It  is  believed  that  the  question  of  relative  cost  effectively 
disposes  of  the  argument  in  favor  of  decentralization  of 
special  buildings  throughout  the  residential  sections,  for, 
though  this  scattering  may  have  certain  advantages  in  rais- 
ing the  entire  tone  of  the  community  and  in  permitting  the 
use  of  one  particular  type  of  facility  without  the  distraction 
attendant  upon  visiting  a  combined  plant,  the  inevitable  in- 
crease in  per  capita  cost,  due  to  fixed  charges  of  oversight 
and  the  im])ossibility  of  utilizing  the  special  building  to  its 
fullest  capacity  throughout  tiic  day,  would  make  it  quite 
impossible  for  the  average  city  to  furnish  more  than  a  small 
portion  of  the   facilities  possible  in  the  combined  plant. 

One  difficulty  met  at  the  outset  in  planning  a  system  of 


120  CITY  PLANNING 

neighborhood  centers  is  the  present  state  of  flux  in  the 
views  as  to  the  relative  importance,  and  especially  the  rela- 
tive distinctness,  of  the  various  educational,  recreational 
and  social  functions.  Thus  it  is  increasingly  recognized  that 
play  not  only  builds  up  the  physical  body  but  is  a  very  im- 
portant educational  factor,  particularly  with  young  chil- 
dren, while,  on  the  other  hand,  adults  derive  much  educa- 
tional value  from  social  amusements,  the  primary  purpose 
of  which  may  simply  be  for  pleasure.  The  present  tendency 
seems  to  be  definitely  moving  towards  considering  all  three 
as  a  single  combined  function,  though  as  yet  we  have  no  one 
term  to  embrace  it. 

The  opportunities  for  development  in  the  typical  Ameri- 
can home  appear  to  be  growing  steadily  less,  so  that  even 
the  play  of  the  very  small  children  is  coming  to  be  consid- 
ered as  a  municipal  function.  In  the  early  stages  of  the 
life  of  a  child  he  needs  chiefly  physical  action,  but  as  he 
grows  older  he  uses  increasingly  mental  processes,  with 
shorter  periods  of  play.  Re-creation,  using  the  term  in  its 
derivative  sense,  becomes  of  constantly  greater  importance, 
for  there  arises  the  need  of  relief — change  in  activities — 
partly  to  be  met  by  relaxation,  but  in  youth  especially  re- 
quiring active  recreation  and  the  incentive  supplied  by 
games.  Education  proper  should  not  only  develop  the 
intellect,  but  should  also  fit  the  student  for  his  life  work, 
and,  secondarily,  provide  an  avocation.  The  responsibility 
of  earning  a  living,  it  is  to  be  noted  in  passing,  should  be 
assumed  gradually  through  the  medium  of  continuation 
schools  or  apprenticing. 

With  the  change  from  long  hours  of  education  to,  let 
us  hope,  not  unduly  long  hours  of  work,  recreation  becomes 
of  even  greater  importance.  In  this  era  of  machines  our 
bodies  tend  to  deteriorate ;  and  our  work  seldom  gives 
marked  enjoyment,  without  which  it  is  now  believed  that 
we  cannot  develop  our  greatest  eflfectiveness.     To  both  of 


NEIGHBORHOOD  CENTERS  121 

these  needs  recreation  supplies  the  necessary  stimulus :  in 
play  we  exercise  and  are  happy,  and  at  the  same  time  avoid 
all  the  misguided  attemj)ts  of  the  individual  to  satisfy  these 
needs  in  "the  easiest  way,"  which,  unfortunately,  only  too 
frequently  means  still  further  deterioration  and  the  destruc- 
tion of  happiness. 

At  this  period  education  becomes  more  and  more  merged 
with  social  activities,  such  as  lectures  and  amusements  of 
all  sorts,  particularly  the  moving  picture  shows.  More  at- 
tention is  required  in  directing  moral  and  emotional  de- 
velopment through  wholesome  social  intercourse.  Now, 
too,  political  interests  become  important.  Recent  progress 
has  been  very  rapid  in  utilizing  the  same  facilities — the 
school  and  social  center — in  developing  political  conscious- 
ness and  civic  spirit.  The  neighborhood  center  also  affords 
opportunity  for  family  use,  for  the  mother  can  bring  her 
child  to  play  and  at  the  same  time  enjoy  rest  in  company 
with  her  friends ;  father  and  son  will  go  upon  the  same  play- 
field  ;  and  many  kindred  opportunities  will  occur. 


Types  of  Centers 

In  this  brief  outline  of  the  functions  of  a  combined  neigh- 
borhood center,  many  important  items  have  been  omitted  or 
barely  mentioned,  as  the  whole  subject  is  exhaustively  dealt 
with  in  certain  of  the  books  cited  in  the  bibliography  which 
is  given  below,  and  it  was  desired  simply  to  indicate  here 
the  relationship  of  the  various  activities  to  be  provided  be- 
fore going  on  to  a  consideration  of  them  seriatim.  Cate- 
gorically they  comprise : 

1.  The  playground  of  the  small  child,  age  two  to  five 
or  six. 

2.  The  combined  school  and  recreation  ])lant  for  the 
older  children,  age  five  or  six  lo  t\vel\e  or  fomiccn. 


122  CITY  PLANNING 

3.  The  combined  high  school,  continuation  school,  voca- 
tional school  (and  college),  and  recreation  facilities  for 
youth,  age  twelve  or  fourteen  to  sixteen  or  twenty.  (Two 
and  three  should,   however,   not  be  sharply  divided.) 

4.  The  combined  social  and  recreational  centers  for 
adults. 

Two  practical  difficulties  at  once  arise  in  attempting  to 
combine  all  these  buildings  and  grounds  in  a  single  plant. 
Boys  and  men  require  large  areas  for  outdoor  games ;  small 
children  will  not  walk  habitually  more  than  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  to  a  playground.  Fortunately  boys  and  men  will  go 
some  distance,  a  mile  or  more,  to  find  a  ball  field,  so  that  a 
few  large  athletic  fields,  preferably  in  connection  with  cer- 
tain of  the  recreation  centers,  will  meet  their  demands.  It 
is  quite  feasible  to  supervise  such  ball  fields  at  some  dis- 
tance from  a  neighborhood  center. 

The  needs  of  the  small  child  would  appear  to  be  most 
adequately  met  by  the  so-called  "block  playground,"  an 
open  space  reserved  in  the  interior  of  every  block,  where 
it  is  to  be  noted  land  is  actually  comparatively  cheap,  and 
an  open  space  is  already  needed  for  light  and  air.  In  con- 
gested districts  such  a  space  need  not  exceed  three  or  four 
per  cent,  of  the  area  of  the  block,  say  thirty  or  forty  feet 
by  one  hundred  feet.  In  suburban  sections,  where  new 
subdivisions  are  being  laid  out,  it  may  prove  practical  to 
include  fifteen  to  twenty-five  per  cent  of  the  total  area  in 
such  common  spaces. 

In  a  report  on  "Suburban  Planning"  recently  completed 
by  the  writer  for  the  Detroit  City  Plan  and  Improvement 
Commission,  it  was  shown  that  with  ninety-six  blocks  to  the 
square  mile — that  is,  streets  one  sixteenth  of  a  mile  apart 
in  one  direction  and  one  sixth  of  a  mile  in  the  other — a 
playground  of  one  and  two  thirds  acres  could  be  left  in 
each  Ijlock,  and  the  lots  would  still  be  eighty  feet  deep ;  and 
even  in  the  case  of  the  minimum  size  blocks,  one  hundred 


NEIGHBORHOOD  CEx\TERS 


123 


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n 


TYPICAL  BLOCK 


n 


MINIMUM    BIjOCK 


SOS.LJE.:  IOOFT.=IIN. 

(S3I  APRU.-I91'4  O:^ 


I       AREAS       ITYPICALBLQCKj  MINIMUM  BLOCK  I 

I      Area  at  BtocK laatyxjag- 96Bf'>c/fetos<y/n]a80>26^-/2oBtocA(»/oa.)rji>| 


r  Streets 
Common 
Lots 


Total  Area 


66,ai6Stf.lt.-l53A,.  -  23.0fi 
72,7Z2  ■  •  -/.67A.-250»o 
iSO.8/2   -     ■   -317^.-52  0% 


62,688*f//;-MSA.-27£% 
42.7v'a  -  •  -  .9a  A.'  IS..49^ 
/i6,600  -  -  •2  90A..J'<^f. 


I  Number  of  Familic 


|S90«00  ' 


-667A     »I0C10%     [232  ago    -  -  -J.33  A.  ^100  0% 


10  pc  mere 


Note:-  Area  in  Common  Ground  tor  Playgrounds  and  Alloltnenta 
may  be  divided  among  abutting  lota. 


DETROIT  CITYPLAN  AND  IMPROVEMENT  COMMISSION 


CON^/ENTIONAL  PLATS  OF  BLOCKS 
SHOWING  CONTROLLING  PRINCIPLES 


TOACCOMPA.^^V  RFPORT  on  suburban  PLANNING 
^XRTHUR  C.  COMEV-  I. ANDSCAI'E  ARCHITECT 


twenty  to  the  square  mile,  one  acre  of  common  ground  in 
each  I)lock  would  still  leave  lots  se\'enty  feet  deep,  as  shown 


124  CITY  PLANNING 

on  the  accompanying  plan.  It  is  believed  that  this  reserve 
of  interior  land  may  come  to  have  a  marked  influence  in 
improving  living  conditions,  for,  in  addition  to  the  play 
area  for  small  children,  provision  may  also  be  made  for 
allotment  gardens,  tennis  courts,  and  other  common  inter- 
ests. 

For  small  children  the  block  playground  should  have  no 
regularly  open  access  to  the  street  except  through  abutting 
property,  so  that  a  mother  can  let  her  child  out  into  it  w^ith 
the  assurance  that  he  will  not  wander  out  upon  the  street. 
The  ground  requires  little,  if  any,  supervision  beyond  that 
given  by  the  mothers,  and  but  little  equipment,  the  most 
important  being  sand  boxes  and  swings.  The  children 
should  also  be  given  large  wooden  blocks  for  building.  As 
the  children  approach  school  age  they  will  tend  to  go  more 
and  more  to  the  nearest  neighborhood  center,  the  value  of 
the  block  playground  being  thus  in  a  large  measure  re- 
stricted to  the  youngest  children.  Even  in  congested  dis- 
tricts it  can,  however,  be  made  an  attractive  breathing  spot, 
with  a  few  light  shade  trees,  climbing  vines  and,  possibly, 
flowers.  Compared  to  the  street,  which  is  often  the  only 
alternative,  such  a  spot  offers  great  relative  privacy  and 
makes  for  neighborliness,  both  of  which  are  only  too  often 
sadly  lacking  in  modem  city  blocks  of  rented  houses  or 
tenements.  If  not  completely  shut  off  at  night  the  ground 
should,  of  course,  be  lighted,  but  this  need  already  applies 
with  equal  force  to  the  alley,  which  the  playground  is  apt 
to  replace. 

If  this  ideal  provision  of  a  little  children's  playground  to 
every  block  is  impracticable,  larger  grounds  must  be  pro- 
vided within  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  at  most,  of  every  child. 
Such  grounds  should  he  supervised,  and  will  naturally  offer 
somewhat  more  elal)orate  facilities,  thereby  attracting  older 
children.  The  size  should  be  definitely  related  to  the  num- 
ber of  children  served,  thirty  square  feet  per  child  being 


NEIGHBORHOOD  CENTERS  125 

considered  a  minimum,  and  seventy-five  to  one  hundred 
square  feet  the  ideal  ratio.  This  type  of  playground  pro- 
vision is  now  l)ccoming  quite  generally  the  practice  in  pro- 
gressive American  cities,  and  if  thoroughly  carried  out  will 
meet  to  a  reasonable  degree  the  requirements  for  play  of  the 
small  children. 

Location   of  Centers 

Turning  now  to  the  consideration  of  the  neighborhood 
center  itself,  let  us  first  consider  its  location.  Three  factors 
control  the  ideal  location  :  first,  frequency,  that  is,  the  extent 
of  territory  each  center  can  serve  ;  second,  access  ;  and  third, 
relation  to  its  immediate  surroundings,  such  as  streets  and 
thoroughfares.  Several  elements  enter  into  the  effective 
radius  of  each  facility ;  and  it  is  possible  here  to  indicate 
only  the  method  by  which  the  area  served  by  the  combined 
center  may  be  determined,  and  to  give  certain  empirical 
conclusions. 

The  first  point  for  consideration  is  distance,  that  is,  how 
far  from  home  people  will  customarily  go,  or,  as  in  the 
case  of  schools  where  attendance  is  compulsory,  how  far 
they  should  be  expected  to  go  to  reach  the  center.  The 
element  of  compulsion  works  in  another  way,  also,  as  it 
gets  comparatively  young  children  into  the  habit  of  going 
much  farther  tlian  they  otherwise  would  go  to  reach  a  play- 
ground separate  from  the  school.  The  only  satisfactory 
way  of  determining  the  "cfi^ective  radius"  of  any  facility  is 
to  plot  on  a  map  the  residence  of  all  those  regularly  at- 
tending it  and  discover  the  radius  of  a  circle  that  will  in- 
clude the  great  majority,  say  eighty  ])cr  cent.  This  metiiod 
will  give  existing  conditions  accurately,  but  is  still  an  in- 
complete criterion  for  any  jiroposed  provision.  Speaking 
broadly,  a  half  mile  is  found  to  be  close  to  the  limit  of  effec- 
ti\c  service  of  most  recreational  and  social  facilities, 


126  CITY  PLANNING 

A  second  element  is  density  of  population,  that  is,  the 
number  of  people  within  the  area  served.  Except  in  very 
densely  populated  districts,  however,  this  factor  will  sel- 
dom control  the  frequency  of  centers,  as  it  is  usually  more 
economical  to  enlarge  the  capacity  of  the  various  units  than 
to  repeat  them  in  additional  centers.  Nevertheless,  in  tene- 
ment districts,  a  Radius  of  a  quarter  of  a  mile  will  often 
include  as  many  people  as  can  be  handled  to  the  best  ad- 
vantage in  a  single  center.  This  limitation,  in  turn,  is  fre- 
quently modified  by  the  existing  conditions,  such  as  exten- 
sive bodies  of  water  and  property  used  for  railroads  and 
other  non-residential  purposes,  including  large  parks  which 
by  their  presence  reduce  the  number  of  people  within  reach 
of  the  center. 

The  efifect  of  physical  conditions  is  closely  connected 
with  the  factor  of  access.  Barriers,  such  as  topographical 
features,  may  be  absolute,  as  in  the  case  of  wide  rivers, 
extensive  railroad  yards  without  crossings,  cliffs  and  even 
steep  ridges ;  or  partial,  such  as  long  hills  and  valleys  to  be 
crossed,  extensive  areas  of  industrial  or  business  property, 
grade  crossings,  and,  for  children  at  least,  heavy  traffic 
thoroughfares.  Centers  should  be  located  so  as  to  avoid, 
as  far  as  possible,  these  hindrances  to  free  access  from 
within  their  districts. 

More  immediate  approaches  are  of  equal  importance,  as 
the  relation  of  the  center  to  its  surroundings  depends  largely 
upon  their  arrangement.  The  center  should  be  located 
near  one  or  more  thoroughfares,  but  not  directly  upon 
them,  primarily  on  account  of  noise  from  traffic  and  danger 
to  the  users  of  the  center,  particularly  children.  Further- 
more, property  on  main  thoroughfares  is  more  expensive 
and  should  be  retained  in  the  taxable  list,  while  at  the 
same  time  a  neighborhood  center  will  enhance  an  interior 
district  in  value  more  than  it  would  neighboring  thorough- 
fare   frontage,    which    already    has    a    high    value    due   to 


NEIGIIBORPIOOD  CENTERS  127 

other  causes.  From  the  thoroughfares,  however,  adequate 
approaches  should  lead  directly  to  the  main  entrance,  which 
should  be  plainly  visible — for  example,  at  the  end  of  a  short 
street — so  as  to  be  readily  found.  One  other  topographical 
condition  is  of  vital  impoitance:  the  ground  must  be  level, 
or  at  least  capable  of  being  graded  into  a  few  broad  ter- 
races. 

Opinions  differ  as  to  the  advisability  of  having  street 
frontage  on  any  or  all  sides  of  this  type  of  public  prop- 
erty in  common  with  certain  others.  The  argument  in 
favor  of  such  frontage  is  based  on  the  fact  that  the  neigh- 
borhood center  is  thus  easily  policed  and  lighted,  entering 
from  private  property  is  prevented,  the  esthetic  effect  is 
enhanced  by  houses  fronting  on  it  instead  of  back  yards, 
which  are  likely  to  be  unkempt,  and  values  of  the  facing 
properties  themselves  are  increased  on  account  of  their 
park-like  outlook.  This  last  advantage  may,  however,  often 
be  questioned  on  account  of  the  noise  on  a  playground ; 
and  it  is  now  considered  that  the  actual  benefit  due  to  a 
neighborhood  center  is  spread  over  several  blocks  on  all 
sides  instead  of  being  confined  to  the  adjoining  frontage, 
as  is  typically  the  case  with  such  improvements  as  boule- 
vards. 

The  argument  against  street  frontage  is  based  chiefly  on 
saving  in  cost  of  pavement,  and,  in  fact,  the  land  for  half 
the  street  itself,  as  this  land  is  considered  to  come  from 
the  usually  none  too  large  area  set  aside  for  the  park. 
Privacy  and  saving  due  to  the  reduced  amount  of  untaxable 
frontage  are  other  reasons  urged.  In  the  concrete  cases 
that  frequently  come  up,  expediency  coupled  with  these 
factors  may  be  sufficient  to  justify  an  interior  location. 
The  buildings  should,  of  course,  face  on  a  street,  so  that 
possibly  a  combination  of  the  two  ideas,  with  jirivate  ])rop- 
erty  on  not  more  than  one  or  two  sides,  will  frequently 
pro\e  most    satisfactory. 


128  CITY  PLANNING 

The  controversy  over  tlie  question  of  placing  neighbor- 
hood centers  in  or  on  the  edge  of  parks  may  be  quickly  dis- 
posed of  by  considering  them  as  additions  to  the  parks  and 
acquiring  the  necessary  land  upon  this  basis.  Under  these 
conditions  there  are  certain  marked  advantages  which  such 
a  center  will  have  over  others  placed  in  the  midst  of  blocks 
that  are  built  up.  Its  approaches,  or  some  of  them,  are 
apt  to  be  far  more  attractive  and  conducive  to  recreation 
in  themselves.  Its  open  spaces  appear  more  liberal  in 
conjunction  with  the  open  park,  and  its  play  fields  may  very 
often  be  extended  into  the  park  without  detracting  from 
the  value  of  the  latter.  Furthermore,  in  parks  of.  some 
size  opportunities  for  rambles  and  nature  study  are  close 
at  hand.  In  the  case  of  a  very  large  park,  however,  the 
question  should  always  be  taken  into  consideration  as  to 
whether  a  neighborhood  center  located  on  its  border  is 
not  too  far  to  one  side  of  the  area  served.  It  must  con- 
stantly be  kept  in  mind  that  the  justifying  value  of  a  large 
park  lies  in  its  broad  appeal  through  beautiful  landscape, 
and  that  once  this  is  destroyed,  the  park  itself  would  better 
be  broken  into  small  bits  scattered  through  the  city.  It 
can  hardly  be  urged,  however,  that,  for  example,  the  tennis 
players  or  the  children  on  the  Playstead  at  Franklin  Park, 
Boston,  detract  from  its  beauty ;  on  tlie  contrary,  they  add 
life  and  picturesqueness  to  the  landscape. 


Facilities  of  Centers 

Having  considered  the  broad  need  and  scope  of  neigh- 
borhood centers  and  their  location  and  surroundings,  we 
may  now  take  up  in  more  detail  the  facilities  to  be  pro- 
vided and  the  management  of  them.  The  building  plans, 
however,  will  in  this  article  be  in  the  main  simply  blocked 
out,   as   several   excellent   treatises   among   those   listed   go 


NEIGHBORHOOD  CENTERS  129 

into  this  matter  in  detail.  Consideration  will  first  be  given 
to  the  necessary  hnildings  and  then  to  the  outdoor  features, 
with  particular  emphasis  on  their  inter-arrangement. 

It  will  be  appreciated  at  the  outset  that  practically  all 
the  indoor  units  can  be  combined  under  one  roof  or  in  a 
series  of  connecting  buildings.  This  arrangement  will  nat- 
urally be  a  development  of  the  most  recent  types  of  school 
architecture,  combined  with  the  essential  features  of  the 
field  house,  as  developed  in  the  recreation  centers  of  Chi- 
cago. It  will  contain — besides  the  usual  class  and  teachers' 
rooms  and  kindergarten — rooms  for  domestic  science,  shops 
for  manual  and  vocational  training,  laboratories,  one  or 
more  auditoriums  or  assembly  halls,  library  and  reading 
rooms,  social  and  rest  rooms,  lunch  rooms,  dispensaries, 
gymnasiums,  pools,  baths,  and  possibly  open-air  class  rooms 
and  a  roof  playground.  For  use  with  the  outdoor  play- 
grounds, as  well  as  the  gymnasiums  and  baths,  there  will 
be  extensive  locker  space.  On  the  side  of  the  building 
away  from  the  class  rooms  there  may  be  an  outdoor  pool. 
Adjoining  the  kindergarten  there  should  be  an  outdoor 
shelter,  which  may  at  the  same  time  roof  over  part  of  the 
small  children's  playground. 

The  outdoor  units  will  be  a  playground  for  boys  and 
men,  a  playground  for  girls  and  women,  a  playground  for 
small  children,  and  space  for  school  gardens.  The  school 
gardens  may  be  made  to  occupy  several  acres,  but  in  the 
crowded  city  hardly  more  than  an  acre  at  most  can  usually 
be  spared  for  this  activity.  It  should  be  noted,  however, 
that  if  we  arc  to  peo])le  our  garden  suburbs  and  make  the 
gardens  successful,  intensive  gardening  must  be  taught  to 
adults  as  well  as  to  the  younger  generation.  Much  of  this 
may  effectively  be  done  as  university  extension  work, 
assisting  families  to  cultivate  their  own  back  yards,  but  a 
central  tract,  and  possibly  even  a  system  of  cottages  on 
lease  during  instruction,   is   now   being  urged   as  the  only 


130  CITY  PLANNING 

adequate  method  in  at  least  one  state  (Massachusetts).* 
The  small  children  require  about  one  acre,  the  girls  two 
acres,  and  the  boys  at  least  that  and  preferably  twice  as 
much,  and  also,  if  room  is  available,  a  ball-field  or  two  and 
space  for  tennis  and  other  field  games.  Allowing  an  acre 
for  buildings  and  adjoining  grounds  and  another  acre  for 
the  school  gardens,  we  find  a  total  area  of  seven  acres  abso- 
lutely essential,  while  even  twenty  acres  is  none  too  large, 
this  being  the  present  standard  in  at  least  one  progressive 
city    (Gary,  Indiana). 

Given  a  relatively  level  site  of  ten  or  fifteen  acres,  the 
disposition  of  these  five  or  six  units  should  be  with  a  view 
to  the  greatest  convenience  in  use  and  economy  in  service. 
Esthetic  considerations,  such  as  architecturally  effective 
placing  of  the  building,  must  come  second.  It  will  usually 
be  found  desirable  to  locate  the  building  on  one  side  of  the 
tract  and  not  more  than  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  from  the 
street,  unless  it  be  a  traffic  street,  so  that  the  smaller 
grounds  can  be  placed  on  either  end  of  the  building  and 
the  larger  fields  across  the  back,  if  any  side  of  it  can  be 
called  the  back.  This  will  permit  a  certain  amount  of  orna- 
mental planting  across  the  street  front,  thereby  forming  an 
appropriate  setting.  Moreover,  as  a  ten-acre  ground  will 
almost  certainly  block  one  or  more  streets,  the  building 
may  usually  be  placed  so  as  to  terminate  a  vista.  Ob- 
viously, a  central  location  would  be  very  wasteful  of  land, 
especially  on  a  small  tract,  and  make  it  quite  impossible 
to  develop  any  large  play  spaces  at  all.  Furthermore,  all 
the  outlooks  would  have  to  be  on  play  areas  and  the  win- 
dows on  all  sides  need  to  be  screened.  If  the  building  is 
placed  on  the  north  side,  as  can  usually  be  done,  it  may 
1)6  made  to  present  windowless  walls  on  the  south  ends  of 
its  wings  toward  the  playgrounds  and  it  will  at  the  same 

^  Sec  Massachusetts  Homestead  Commission,  First  Annual  Report 
(1914),  and   Bulletin  3,  January,  1015. 


NKIGHBORHOOD  CENTERS  131 

time  afford  protection  from  winter  winds  and  warmth  in 
the  sun. 

Trees  placed  around  the  edge  of  the  tract  and  between 
the  play  fields  will  afford  sufficient  shade  during  the  sum- 
mer. The  use  of  shrubbery,  however,  has  been  condemned 
on  account  of  the  moral  hazard  involved,  though  it  is  at 
least  a  question  whether  the  fault  does  not  lie  with  the 
method  of  suj^ervision.  A  few  well-designed  shrub  masses 
at  the  base  of  the  building  and  along  the  border  and  at  the 
corners  of  the  grounds  will  greatly  increase  their  attractive- 
ness. About  the  only  other  practicable  planting  will  be 
vines  on  the  building  and  hedges  or  vines  on  the  fences. 

There  is  still  some  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  de- 
sirability of  fencing,  but  with  such  an  elaborate  plant  as 
that  outlined  in  this  chapter  a  fence  would  seem  to  be 
essential  for  protection  of  property  alone,  if  for  no  other 
reason.  The  argument  against  the  fence  is  based  on  the 
fact  that  it  prevents  the  incorporation  of  the  sidewalk  into 
the  play  area,  it  practically  wastes  a  strip  several  feet  wide 
adjoining  the  fence,  and  at  the  same  time  it  necessitates 
long  detours  by  the  gate  in  order  to  go  upon  the  playground 
or  to  leave  it.  Furthermore,  it  involves  a  very  considerable 
expenditure  of  money.  In  favor  of  the  fence,  however,  is 
not  only  the  argument  for  protection  of  property,  but  also 
protection  of  the  children  by  keeping  them  off  the  street 
with  its  very  real  dangers  since  automobiles  have  come 
into  general  use.  At  the  same  time  the  street  is  preserved 
for  its  original  purpose  of  communication.  If  the  play- 
ground is  too  small,  enlarge  the  ground,  do  not  usurp  the 
street.  There  must,  of  course,  be  exceptions  to  this  rule 
where  adjacent  land  is  covered  with  improvements  or  held 
at  prohibitive  figures,  and  where  the  street  on  the  other 
hand  is  not  a  main  traffic  way.  In  fact,  in  congested  dis- 
tricts certain  local  streets  may  well  be  turned  into  play 
spaces  and  vehicles  excluded,  except  during  certain  hours. 


132  CITY  PLANNING 

Aside  from  these  more  or  less  obvious  advantages  of 
fencing,  certain  incidental  reasons  have  been  emphasized  by 
conditions  on  unfenced  playgrounds,  especially  the  unregu- 
lated use  of  apparatus  at  hours  when  there  is  no  one  in 
attendance,  particularly  at  night.  This  is  usually  the  chief 
source  of  annoyance  caused  by  playgrounds  to  the  imme- 
diate neighborhood.  The  use  of  fences  also  makes  possible 
the  division  of  the  ground  into  separate  spaces  for  boys 
and  girls  and  little  children,  thereby  distinguishing  these 
areas  sharply  from  the  surrounding  land,  and  fostering  a 
sense  of  unity  and  loyalty  among  the  children. 

The  type  of  construction  of  the  fence  requires  some  at- 
tention. It  must  be  permanent  and  sightly,  and  at  the  same 
time  not  unduly  expensive.  In  congested  districts  a  steel 
picket  fence  may  be  the  only  satisfactory  type  in  spite  of 
its  relatively  great  cost.  A  heavy  woven  wire  fence  placed 
within  a  privet  hedge  is  very  attractive  and  practical;  or,  if 
every  foot  of  room  must  be  made  usable,  vines,  such  as 
rambler  roses  i  or  honeysuckle,  may  be  grown  upon  it. 
Whatever  the  type  of  fence,  it  must  be  of  close  enough 
construction  to  prevent  balls  from  going  through  it. 

The  exact  placing  of  each  play  area  is  very  important 
indeed,  as  otherwise  the  ground  may  not  serve  more  than 
a  fraction  of  its  greatest  capacity.  Each  game  and  other 
activity  should  be  assigned  a  separate  space,  and  whatever 
equipment  is  used  should  be  permanently  fixed  so  that  that 
game  will  be  played  there  and  not  interfere  with  the  rest 
of  the  ground.  This,  of  course,  does  not  mean  that  the 
entire  area  shall  be  cluttered  up  with  fixtures :  a  central 
open  space  adapted  to  various  games  requiring  no  appara- 
tus is  often  the  portion  of  the  area  that  is  most  used.  In 
this  chapter  the  various  games  will  simply  be  touched  upon 
briefly,  for  the  most  part,  as  their  detailed  requirements, 
with  measurements,  orientation,  and  equipment,  are  com- 
pletely dealt  with  in  the  text  books  on  the  subject. 


NEIGHBORHOOD  CENTERS  133 

Baseball  is  the  universal  game  but  unfortunately  re- 
quires a  great  deal  of  space  for  a  very  few  actual  players, 
though  many  others  may  derive  pleasure  and  some  benefit 
from  watching  them.  A  standard  field  requires  an  area 
some  three  hundred  feet  square  or  two  acres,  and  is,  there- 
fore, often  impracticable  in  congested  city  districts.  How- 
ever, boys  will  play  on  a  space  of  one  half  these  dimen- 
sions, and  for  even  more  congested  districts  the  now  popu- 
lar substitute,  "indoor  baseball"  or  "playground  ball"  so 
called,  may  be  provided.  In  fact,  this  modification  of  the 
game  brought  about  by  the  necessities  of  the  case  has 
many  attendant  advantages,  as  it  is  much  more  sociable 
and  makes  for  simpler  pleasure  than  the  highly  scientific 
playing  for  which  all  baseball  players  strive. 

Of  the  other  field  games  American  football  is  open  to 
the  same  objection  as  to  space,  since  it  requires  an  area 
of  one  hundred  and  sixty  by  three  hundred  and  sixty  feet, 
though  boys  will  enjoy  a  game  on  a  much  smaller  field. 
Two  football  fields  may  be  laid  out  in  the  autumn  on  a 
single  full-sized  baseball  diamond.  These  two  games  have, 
of  course,  the  lure  of  national  interest,  so  that  many  boys 
are  attracted  to  play  who  might  not  otherwise  come  at  all. 
Association  football  ("soccer")  has  less  general  popularity, 
though  in  many  respects  it  is  a  better  game,  as  it  requires 
less  careful  training  to  prevent  serious  accidents.  It  also 
may  be  played  on  a  regular  football  field.  Other  games 
on  the  same  field  include  cricket,  lacrosse,  and  field  hockey, 
each  of  which  has  its  devotees.  The  natural  place  for  a 
running  track  is  around  the  football  field,  which  will  allow 
a  standard  quarter-mile  track,  with  space  for  most  of  the 
"field  events"  in  the  curved  end  of  the  track.  A  combined 
playfield  of  this  type  will  occupy  three  acres  or  more. 

Popular  games  requiring  less  space  and  therefore  more 
generally  available  for  city  playgrounds  are  basket  ball,  50 
by  70  feet ;  tennis,  56  by  118  feet ;  indoor  baseball,  35  by  35 


134  CITY  PLANNING 

feet ;  tether  ball,  a  20- foot  circle  ;  and  the  excellent  game  of 
volley  ball,  which  may  be  played  indoors  or  out  and  has 
no  exact  requirements  as  to  space. 

The  spaces  occupied  by  fixed  apparatus  should  be  planned 
with  the  same  care  as  the  games.  Swings,  see-saws,  giant 
stride,  slide,  and  an  outdoor  gymnasium,  with  bars,  ladders, 
and  rings,  all  have  their  places,  though  undue  emphasis 
should  never  be  laid  on  equipment  to  the  detriment  of 
supervision  and  participation  in  "ring  games"  and  exer- 
cises. On  the  smaller  children's  playground  sand  bins  are 
almost  an  essential,  and  a  wading  pool  should  be  provided 
whenever  possible,  as  it  undoubtedly  gives  more  pleasure 
and  healthful  recreation  in  extremely  hot  weather  than  any 
other  single  provision.  In  winter  it  will  afford  a  little 
folks'  skating  pond,  where  they  will  not  be  disturbed  by 
the  older  boys  and  girls.  For  the  latter  a  portion  or  all  of 
the  playfield  should,  if  possible,  be  flooded  and  the  ice  kept 
free  from  snow.  Coasting  is  not  adapted  to  the  restricted 
area  of  a  neighborhood  center  and  must,  as  a  rule,  be  con- 
fined to  the  parks  proper. 

In  addition  to  these  typical  playground  features,  it  has 
been  found  very  beneficial,  where  tried,  to  provide  oppor- 
tunities for  the  care  of  pets  and  other  animals,  which  may 
also  be  studied  in  connection  with  natural  science  courses. 
Carpentry,  building,  and  other  similar  activities  should  also 
find  room  in  which  to  be  taken  up  by  those  interested. 

It  almost  goes  without  saying  that  the  grounds  should 
be  lighted,  and  lighted  brilliantly,  with  an  ornamental  sys.- 
tem,  which  may  be  definitely  related  to  the  architectural 
design,  but  must,  first  of  all,  light  effectively  all  the  area 
used.  A  large  proportion  of  the  patrons  of  the  neighbor- 
hood ceriter  have  to  work  during  the  daylight  hours  and, 
lacking  the  playground,  their  usual  recourse  is  the  picture 
show,  dance  hall,  saloon,  or  worse.  All  the  outdoor  games, 
with  the  possible  exception  of  baseball,  may  be  played  by 


NEIGHBORHOOD  CENTERS  135 

artificial  light,  so  that  indoors  and  out  the  combined  neigh- 
borhood center  will  be  used  fourteen  hours,  six  or  even 
seven  days  in  the  week.  Interesting  figures  have  recently 
been  compiled  by  Mr.  George  A.  Parker,  Superintendent 
of  Parks  at  Hartford,  showing  the  cost  of  various  recrea- 
tions per  person  engaged  in  each.  The  general  use  of  play- 
grounds has  cost  about  0.71  cents  per  person  using  them; 
the  outdoor  gymnasiums  0.33  cents ;  baseball  0.36  cents ; 
football  1.02  cents;  skating  0.83  cents;  tennis  7.35  cents; 
and  school  gardens  1.12  cents. 

Gary  System 

In  support  of  the  efficiency  of  the  combined  school  and 
recreation  center,  Mr.  Henry  S.  Curtis  quotes  the  Super- 
intendent of  Schools  of  Gary,  Indiana,  where  this  method 
has  been  most  completely  adopted,  "Mr.  Wirt  has  shown 
that  the  number  using  the  gymnasiums  and  playgrounds  of 
the  Emerson  School,  Gary,  is  nearly  equal  to  the  number 
using  the  eleven  gymnasiums  and  playgrounds  of  the  South 
Park  system  of  Chicago,  and  the  cost  of  installation  in 
Gary  is  about  one  twentieth  of  the  cost  in  Chicago,  and 
the  cost  of  maintenance  is  about  one  sixth  as  much." 
These  two  systems,  the  schools  of  Gary  and  the  recreation 
centers  of  the  Chicago  South  Park  system,  constitute  prob- 
ably the  best  examples  of  their  respective  types  of  provi- 
sion. The  balance,  financially  at  least,  strongly  favors  the 
Gary  system. 

In  the  Chicago  South  Side  system,  unusual  financial  re- 
sources, coupled  with  the  very  typical  difficulty  of  getting  re- 
sults through  the  routine  school  organization,  pointed  to  the 
establishment  of  an  entirely  separate  scries  of  units  fitted 
out  in  a  very  elaborate  and  complete  manner  and  providing 
solely  for  recreation  and  incidental  social  uses.  Their 
magnificent  plants,  occupying  often   twenty  acres,   remain 


136  CITY  PLANNING 

the  highest  type  of  equipment  in  this  country  and  as  such 
have  been  a  lasting  inspiration  to  other  cities  in  their 
efforts  to  secure  satisfactory  provision  for  neighborhood 
recreation.  Not  only  in  their  broad  lines,  but  in  every 
detail,  careful  study  has  been  given  to  produce  the  most 
effective  results.  Unfortunately,  however,  few  cities  have 
the  resources  to  make  such  ample  provision  for  recreation, 
and  some  sort  of  compromise  becomes  necessary.  It  is 
here  that  the  merits  of  the  combined  plant  are  found  to 
outweigh  by  far  the  advantages  attendant  upon  separate 
provision  of  recreation  facilities ;  for  with  insufficient  out- 
lay the  mark  is  apt  to  be  missed  entirely  and  the  money 
thus  almost  wasted,  whereas,  if  combined  with  the  educa- 
tional plant,  a  very  limited  amount  will  immediately  pro- 
duce valuable  results. 

It  would  seem,  therefore,  that  the  Gary  method  is  more 
closely  adapted  to  the  needs  of  most  American  cities.  With 
the  details  of  its  operation  this  chapter  is  not  concerned ; 
they  are  excellently  set  forth  in  a  recent  United  States 
Educational  Bulletin.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  the  children 
move  about  for  a  half  or  three  quarters  of  their  time  to 
special  lecture  rooms,  laboratories,  shops,  gymnasiums  and 
the  playground  itself,  each  place  being  under  a  trained 
teacher  or  director  and  all  a  part  of  the  regular  curriculum. 
They  thereby  not  only  vastly  increase  their  benefit  from 
the  school,  but  at  the  same  time  economize  on  class  room, 
since  two,  three,  or  even  four  sets  of  pupils  may  use  the 
same  regular  rooms.  The  resulting  saving  is  sufficient  to 
pay  all  the  additional  costs  of  special  instruction  and  spe- 
cial equipment.  The  school  is  open  Saturdays  for  volun- 
tary attendance  and  evenings  for  both  young  and  old. 
The  school  year  consists  of  four  quarters  of  twelve  weeks 
each,  attendance  in  any  three  quarters  only  lacing  required. 
In  these  ways  the  children  are  given  the  motive  for  coming 
to  school  and  do  come  to  the  limit  of  their  time.     A  plan 


NEIGHBORHOOD  CENTERS 


137 


of  the  grounds  and  lowest  floor  of  the  building  of  one 
of  the  recently  constructed  Gary  School  Centers  is  given 
in  this  chapter  as  typifying  the  latest  advance  along  these 
lines. 


Plan  of  Froebel  School  and  Part  of  School  Grounds,  Gary, 
Indiana 


A  system  of  neighborhood  centers  of  the  type  indicated 
in  this  chapter  is  believed  to  be  possible  of  attainment  by 
any  American  city.  The  beginning  should  be  made,  as  at 
Gary,  with  the  new  installations  in  the  growing  districts ; 
and  then,  one  at  a  time,  the  best  suited  of  the  old  school 


138  CITY  PLANNING 

buildings  should  be  remodeled  and  their  grounds  enlarged, 
to  meet  the  new  requirements.  In  choosing  these  as  well 
as  the  new  sites,  particular  attention  should  be  given  to  the 
grouping  of  civic  buildings  and  the  location  of  centers  with 
respect  to  the  areas  served  and  ease  of  access.  The  city 
plan  should  indicate  these  sites  in  advance.  In  this  man- 
ner all  progressive  American  cities  may  ultimately  provide 
adequate  educational  service  of  the  broadest  type,  and  thus 
meet  fully  the  educational,  recreational,  and  other  social 
needs  of  the  community. 

Bibliography 

BuRRis,  W.  P.  The  Public  School  System  of  Gary,  Ind.  U. 
S.  Bureau  of  Education,  Bulletin  18,  1914. 

Curtis,  H.  S.     Education  Through  Play.     1914. 

.     The  Neighborhood  Center.     American  City,  viii,  nos.  i 

and  2,  July  and  August,  1912. 

.     The  Reorganized  School  Playground.    U.  S.  Bureau  of 

Education,  Bulletin  40,  1913. 

Hubbard,  H.  V.  The  Size  and  Distribution  of  Playgrounds 
and  Similar  Recreation  Facilities  in  American  Cities.  Pro- 
ceedings of  National  Conference  on  City  Planning,  1914. 

.     Space   Required    for    Some    Common    Outdoor    Games. 

Landscape  Architecture,  ii,  no.  4,  July,  1912. 

Perry,  C.  A.  Social  Center  Features  in  New  Elementary 
School  Architecture.     Russell   Sage  Foundation,  No.   120. 

.  Wider  Use  of  the  School  Plant.  Russell  Sage  Founda- 
tion,  1910. 

Public  Recreation  Facilities.  Annals  of  American  Academy  of 
Political  and  Social  Science,  No.  117,  ^March,  1910. 

Report  of  the  Survey  of  the  Public  School  System,  Portland, 
Oregon,  1913. 

Ward,  E.  J.  The  School  Center.  National  Municipal  League 
Series. 

.  Social  and  Civic  Centers.  American  Unitarian  Associa- 
tion, Bulletin  23. 


CHAPTER   VII 
GENERAL   RECREATION    FACILITIES 

At  the  outset,  it  is  well  to  define  the  term  recreation  in  its 
relation  to  city  planning.  The  idea  of  city  planning  is  so 
to  provide  for  a  community  that  its  members  shall  be 
constantly  improving  in  their  beneficial  relation  to  it.  Rec- 
reation is  a  part,  an  important  part,  of  that  improving  re- 
lation, and  it  may  easily  be  defined  by  simply  inserting  a 
hyphen  after  the  word's  first  syllable.  Re-creation,  making 
again,  renewing,  restoring ;  in  short,  upbuilding  after  down- 
pulling;  such,  in  a  community,  is  the  function  of  recrea- 
tion. 

That  this  is  not  at  all  generally  understood  by  the  mass 
of  the  community  members  I  need  hardly  more  than  state. 
Recreation,  in  the  mind  of  the  average  American  citizen 
of  any  sex,  age,  or  climate,  spells  primarily  enjoyment;  it 
is  pleasure,  relaxation,  "a  good  time."  This  average  man 
is  right  in  a  sense,  and  as  far  as  he  goes ;  but  he  does  not 
go  far  enough.  Some  men  above  the  average,  honestly 
interested  in  their  fellow  men,  think  of  recreation  as  a 
sort  of  civic  dessert,  a  "frill,"  a  showing  forth  of  the  com- 
munity's riches.  They  do  not  really  conceive  the  word  or 
what  it  means  as  at  all  vital  to  the  community's  welfare. 
It  is,  as  they  see  it,  desirable  to  afford  to  their  fellow- 
citizens  the  pleasure  of  a  park,  the  fun  of  a  playground, 
but  the  close  relation  of  actual  working  efficiency  to  the 
opportunity  for  uplniilding  recreation  has  not  occurred  to 
them.      Such   citizens   dominate   a   certain    city — and   there 

139 


140  CITY  PLANNING 

are  others  in  which  the  same  condition  prevails — which 
has  a  park  with  flower  beds  and  architectural  adornment, 
and  is,  nevertheless,  almost  wholly  without  civic  recreation 
facilities. 

In  this  chapter  I  shall  look  at  recreation  as  having  for 
the  community  of  any  size  a  most  important  relation  to  its 
productivity  in  people  and  wealth.  I  shall  write  upon  the 
assumption  that  the  work  of  any  man,  woman,  or  child  in 
an  American  town  or  city,  or  even  more  in  the  open  coun- 
try or  the  small  village,  entails  a  daily  depletion  of  vital 
force,  beyond  that  provided  in  food  and  sleep,  -which  must 
be  restored  if  production  in  the  individual  and  the  com- 
munity interest  is  to  be  continued  in  full  efficiency.  Fur- 
ther, I  shall  assume  that  as  a  part  of  city  replanning, 
greatly  needed  all  over  America,  proper  recreation  facili- 
ties will  tend  considerably  to  increase  the  community  out- 
put in  quantity  and  in  value. 

It  is  necessary  to  take  yet  another  view  of  the  function 
of  properly  managed  community  recreation — that  it  is  a 
competition  with  the  forces  of  evil,  the  down-pulling  facili- 
ties that  thoughtlessness  has  permitted  to  be  prominently 
put  forward  and  actually  legalized. 

So  definite  and  natural  is  the  necessity  for  recreation 
that  in  all  recorded  time  man  has  himself  undertaken  it  in 
some  form.  Not  only  does  "all  work  and  no  play  make 
Jack  a  dull  boy,"  but  Jack  simply  won't  work  all  the  time, 
and  never  has  done  so.  A  very  capable  and  experienced 
inquirer  and  student,  Mr.  George  A.  Parker,  has  esti- 
mated that  in  a  city  of  a  hundred  thousand,  assuming  that 
all  time  not  used  in  working,  sleeping,  or  eating  is  recrea- 
tion time,  every  individual  spends  an  average  of  five  hours 
in  each  twenty-four  in  recreation,  independent  of  Sundays 
and  holidays.  \Mien  the  sum  of  this  time  is  taken — 20,8  :^^ 
days  or  fifty-seven  years  of  recreation  time  each  day  in  a 
city  of  a  hundred  thousand  permanent  population — it  is  not 


GENERAL  RECREATION  FACILITIES  141 

hard  to  understand  why  vast  enterprises  are  carried  on  to 
claim  as  much  of  it  as  possible. 

The  saloon,  the  theater,  the  dance-hall,  the  "movie,"  all 
depend  upon  diverting  a  portion  of  this  time,  with  its  con- 
sequent money  expenditure,  which  Mr.  Parker  estimates  at 
two  cents  per  recreation  hour  or  ten  thousand  dollars  per 
week-day  in  the  city  of  a  hundred  thousand.  He  found 
that  in  cities  where  the  individual  recreation  expenditure 
was  as  low  as  one  cent  per  hour,  "the  city  was  hardly  a 
livable  place."  The  lecture-hall,  the  church,  and  all  the 
forces  of  good  compete  for  this  time  and  this  money;  but 
how  inadequately  anyone  may  determine  who  will  use  the 
same  general  formula  for  his  community,  comparing  then 
the  number  of  churches  and  the  hours  they  are  open,  on 
the  one  side,  with  the  number  of  saloons  and  the  hours 
they  are  open,  on  the  other.  These  two  are  thus  mentioned 
on  the  assumption  that  the  church  is  entirely  an  upbuilding 
agency  and  the  saloon  a  down-pulling  agency — an  assump- 
tion few  will  attempt  to  combat.  I  do  not  here  assign  the 
"movie"  one  way  or  another. 

To  answer  an  obvious  query  concerning  this  recreation 
formula,  I  may  say  that  it  is  considered  that  school  hours 
for  children  count  as  work,  and  that  the  transient  popula- 
tion in  any  city,  as  well  as  those  not  doing  any  actual 
productive  work,  will  make  up  for  the  time  of  children  too 
young  for  school.  It  may  also  be  said  that  for  larger 
cities,  with  generally  shorter  hours  of  labor,  the  tendency 
will  be  for  more  recreation  time,  and  larger  recreation  ex- 
penses ;  while  for  smaller  communities  the  average  will 
probably  hold  at  five  hours  per  individual. 

This  is  not  the  ])lace  to  discuss  witli  fullness  the  recrea- 
tion ])r()bk'ni  for  the  nu'al  ])opnlation.  yet  it  is  surely  a 
most  serious  ])rol)lem,  affecting  more  than  one-third  the 
population  of  the  United  States,  and  needing  attention  for 
that  reason.     I  suspect  that  the  movement  from  the  coun- 


142  CITY  PLANNING 

try  to  the  city  will  tend  to  diminish  when  thoughtful  men 
and  women  rid  themselves  of  the  unwarranted  idea  that 
a  worker  in  the  open  country  does  not  need,  or  does  get 
without  specific  provision,  that  upbuilding  recreation  which 
runs  with  content,  happiness  and  increase  in  moral  and 
financial  worth. 

It  is  probable  that  this  volume  does  not  take  up  the 
needs  and  the  difficulties  of  the  smaller  communities  in 
which  live,  in  the  aggregate,  many  millions  of  people,  and 
that,  therefore,  I  may  not  more  than  mention  the  need  for 
recreation  facilities  in  these  hamlets  and  villages,  assumed 
to  be  closer  to  the  open  country  than  to  the  crowded  city 
with  its  disadvantages.  Any  thoughtful  person  who  will 
undertake  to  inquire  into  the  use  of  the  time  not  used  in 
working,  eating,  or  sleeping  in  ten  average  communities  of 
less  than  twenty-five  hundred  population  will  find  an  appall- 
ing condition.  Let  him  listen  to  the  conversation  at  the 
gathering  places — for  these  people  are  not  immune  to  the 
necessity  for  recreation — and  he  will  hardly  find  it  up- 
building. Let  him  consider  the  provisions  for  play,  and 
he  will  probably  find  that  the  only  way  for  boys  to  engage 
in  America's  body-building  national  game  of  baseball  is  by 
either  actual  or  tacit  trespassing.  Where  are  the  equipped 
playgrounds  to  make  boys  and  girls  strong,  agile,  graceful, 
and  orderly?  How  about  the  tennis  courts?  As  for  other 
recreation  facilities,  he  will  find  the  church  about  the  only 
force  for  good,  with  the  saloon  or  the  country  tavern  usually 
doing  a  much  larger  business. 

I  have  in  mind  a  mountain  village  of  about  two  hundred 
permanent  population,  having  two  year-round  churches, 
one  general  store,  and  no  saloon.  The  people  are  honest 
and  upright  to  an  unusual  degree.  During  the  summer 
there  is  an  increase  of  population,  through  the  coming  of 
a  transient  population  of  eight  hundred  or  more  to  enjoy 
the  lake  which  gives  name  to  the  village.     Now  it  has  been 


GENERAL  RECREATION  FACILITIES  143 

found  that  the  hoys  of  this  Httle  village,  honest  and  truth- 
telling  above  average,  are  unpleasantly  destructive.  Why? 
Because  they  have  no  recreation  facilities  whatever.  And 
the  men,  all  of  whose  income  is  derived  from  work  in  con- 
nection with  the  summer  resort,  arc  idlers  for  seven  or 
eight  months.  They  have  no  handicraft,  they  produce 
nothing;  they  are  untaught  save  in  that  which  the  school 
provides.  That  little  village,  under  some  form  of  encour- 
aged recreation  effort,  could  soon  double  its  material  worth 
and  increase  its  potential  citizenship  value  tenfold. 

There  were  in  1910,  in  the  United  States,  11,784  organ- 
ized or  incorporated  communities  having  less  than  2,500 
inhabitants,  but  including  a  total  population  of  8,118,825, 
or  8.8  per  cent,  of  the  people  in  continental  United  States. 
To  a  painful  extent  these  communities  combine  all  the  dis- 
advantages of  the  country  and  the  city,  w'ith  mighty  few  of 
the  advantages  of  either!  Housing  conferences  overlook 
them,  city  planning  is  unknown  in  them,  recreation  facili- 
ties are  comprised  mostly  in  what  the  churches,  the  saloon, 
the  "movie"  and  the  cheap  one-night-stand  small  vaudeville 
troop  can  do  for  them.  I  have  seen  vulgar  posters  displayed 
in  these  overlooked  country  towns  announcing  "shows"  of 
such  nastiness  as  would  never  be  allowed  in  the  large  cities. 
"Anything  to  catch  the  rubes,"  say  those  who  compete  for 
the  recreation  time  and  money  of  those  who  are  working 
on  the  land,  or  who  live  close  to  it  in  small  towns.  It  is 
high  time  that  other  agencies  enter  the  field,  to  build  up 
citizenship,  to  increase  intelligence,  to  add  productive  ca- 
pacity, through  the  use  of  the  recreational  impulses.  Adding 
the  1,172  places  having  between  2.500  and  5,000  inhabi- 
tants, we  include  4,105,656  more  people  in  the  considera- 
tion, or  a  total  of  12,224,481  inhabitants — -just  about  the 
urban  population  of  New  York,  Chicago,  Philadelphia,  St. 
Louis,  Boston,  Cleveland,  Baltimore,  Pittsburgh,  Detroit 
and  r>uffalo  combined.     What  would  be  thought  of  action 


144  CITY  PLANNING 

or  inaction  which  would  result  in  giving  the  people  of  these 
ten  largest  cities  no  better  recreation  facilities  than  are 
now  afforded  to  the  little  places  ? 

But  now  there  may  properly  be  inquiry  as  to  what  pro- 
portion of  the  average  recreation  time  of  the  individual 
ought  to  be  looked  after  or  competed  for  by  the  community 
as  an  organized  body.  Again  I  quote  Mr.  Parker,  who  is 
on  record  as  desiring  to  have  the  hundred-thousand  city's 
park  department  endeavor  to  provide  for  one  hour  per 
day,  on  an  average,  for  each  individual.  He  goes  further 
in  a  novel  desire  to  compete  for  the  accompanying  expendi- 
ture of  two  cents  per  recreation  hour,  and  I  shall  refer 
to  this  later.  Assuming  as  a  basis  the  propriety  of  his  de- 
sire to  have  the  city's  plan  of  operation  provide  for  not 
less  than  100,000  recreation  hours  each  week  day — and  at 
least  double  on  Sundays  and  holidays — we  may  consider 
what  facilities  would  be  required,  and  what  expenditure 
would  be  incurred  in  that  provision. 

The  first  item  in  this  consideration  is  proximity.  It  is 
obvious  to  any  thoughtful  person  that  the  well-to-do  in  a 
community  do  not  need  the  same  intensity  of  recreational 
provision  as  do  the  workers.  The  man  who  has  a  salary 
rather  than  wages  needs  recreation  for  himself  and  his 
family — and  he  usually  gets  it,  too !  He  can  go  after  it 
more  easily,  and  spend  more  for  it,  than  can  the  wage- 
worker.  I  do  not  argue  that  he  may  be  neglected,  for  he 
is  very  important :  nor  does  he  at  all  change  the  average 
demand.  I  do  mean  that  the  recreation  facilities  should 
not  be  located  primarily  for  his  convenience,  but  rather 
for  the  convenience  of  his  fellow-worker  for  wages. 

The  families  of  the  wage-workers  tend  to  be  larger  than 
those  of  the  salaried  man.  Take  only  an  average  family 
of  five,  and  with  the  father  away  at  his  work  and  the 
mother  at  her  housework,  there  are  three  children  to  con- 
sider.    It  is  neither  proper  nor  practicable  to  expect  these 


GENERAL  RECREATION  FACILITIES  145 

children  to  go,  unaccompanied,  a  considerable  distance  to 
a  recreation  center,  a  playground.  They  won't ;  they  don't ! 
The  gutter  and  the  street  and  the  vacant  lot  are  too  near 
and  too  attractive.  The  children  do  not  distinguish  be- 
tween upbuilding  and  down-pulling  recreation. 

It  is,  therefore,  to  be  taken  as  axiomatic  that  instead  of 
city  planning,  so  as  to  take  the  people  to  the  playgrounds, 
the  better  way  is  to  take  the  playgrounds  to  the  people,  to 
locate  the  community's  facilities,  for  at  least  part  of  its 
upbuilding  recreation  effort,  right  where  the  wage-earners 
live. 

A  notable  example  of  the  way  in  which  this  has  been 
done  may  be  seen  in  the  small  parks  or  recreation  centers 
in  the  South  Side  and  the  West  Side  districts  of  Chicago. 
Right  in  the  heart  of  these  industrial  districts,  competing 
with  hundreds  of  saloons,  dance-halls  and  worse,  are  these 
city-provided  spots  of  green,  these  "country  clubs,"  as  I 
might  call  them,  of  the  people.  In  one  instance  fifty-seven 
houses  were  demolished  to  make  place  for  the  community 
center — a  telling  commentary  on  the  expense  of  hindsight 
as  compared  with  foresight  in  city  planning.  These  Chi- 
cago centers  average  no  less  than  ten  acres  each ;  they 
provide  intimately  for  the  recreational  needs  of  the  nearby 
population ;  they  are  not  set  forth  as  charities,  but  as  pro- 
prieties, if  I  may  so  strain  a  word.  And  they  are  used  by 
the  people  as  a  right,  with  self-respect ;  for  they  are  pro- 
vided hy  the  city,  all  the  city,  for  the  city,  all  the  city. 
Said  the  superintendent  of  the  center  nearest  the  great, 
grim,  and  bustling  stock-yards  to  me  one  very  hot  July 
Sunday  when  I  was  seeing  how  Chicago  cared  for  at  least 
some  of  her  people :  "Yesterday  after  the  quitting  whistles 
blew,  there  came  from  the  stock-yards  to  this  center  the 
regular  throng,  and  2,'/C)^  men  used  our  shower  baths !" 
Then  I  saw  how  this  provision  extended  to  all  the  recrea- 
tional  and,   indeed,   the  social  needs   of  the   family,    from 


146 


CITY  PLANNING 


the  baby  playing  happily  in  the  sand-boxes  to  the  young 
women  having  a  party  of  their  own  in  one  of  the  assigned 
rooms  of  the  impressive  building  that  was  an  example  of 
and  for  civic  pride  and  provision.  Folk  dances  were  com- 
peting outdoors  with  a  ball  game ;  the  refectory  was  selling 


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ice  cream — of  a  quality  unexcelled  anywhere — at  a  nickel  a 
])ortion,  with  milk,  cakes  and  rolls  at  as  near  cost  as  they 
could  be  figured ;  boys  and  girls  who  were  not  in  their 
own  outdoor  gymnasium  were  contentedly  reading  in  their 
own  library,  under  the  eye  of  a  child-loving  librarian.     But 


GENERAL  RECREATION  FACILITIES  147 

best  of  all,  to  me,  was  the  hustle  and  scramble  of  other 
boys,  a  hundred  at  a  time,  as  they  got  in  line  for  a  steril- 
ized suit  and  towel  preparatory  to  an  hour  in  the  great 
open-air  swimming  pool,  as  beautiful  as  any  Roman  bath 
of  old. 

Orderly  ?  Yes,  and  without  blue-coated  restraint.  For 
all  were  gentlemen  and  ladies  using  their  own  club,  if  you 
please,  even  though  most  of  them  would  not  have  com- 
fortably pronounced  the  name  of  the  center  in  English ! 

Here  then  was  the  competition  of  the  city  with  the  forces 
of  evil,  not  only  for  bodies  but  for  souls,  for  citizenship, 
for  working  efficiency,  for  Monday-morning-on-the-job ; 
here  was  Chicago's  answer  to  the  question  as  to  being  her 
brother's  keeper :  here  was  the  shrewdest  economy  of  city 
government !  Is  it  any  wonder  that  within  a  half-mile 
radius  of  these  wonderful  centers  juvenile  crime  in  1910 
decreased  44  per  cent.,  while  outside  that  radius  it  increased 
1 1  per  cent.  ? 

I  have  thus  broken  into  the  orderly  sequence  of  this  dis- 
cussion that  I  might  perhaps  doubly  enforce  the  idea  both 
of  the  value  of  definite  recreational  provision,  and  of  the 
importance  and  efficiency  of  arranging  it  close  to  the  popu- 
lation most  needing  it. 

The  time  was  when  a  city  thought  it  had  done  well  in 
obtaining  a  great  park  somewhere  near  the  town,  and  in 
developing  it  with  lawns  and  drives  and  flower-beds.  Fine 
as  it  is  to  have  such  parks,  we  now  know  that  they  do  not 
meet  the  need,  do  not  efficiently  compete,  do  not  produce 
value  in  working  citizenship  comparable  at  all  with  the 
smaller  areas  nearer  the  people,  and  better  arranged  to 
serve  them. 

A  recent  thoughtful  study  of  park  service  by  Arthur  C. 
Comey  ^  presents  graphically  tlie  idea  that  the  one  large 
park  or  wild  reservation,  which  used  to  be  considered  as 
^Landscape  Architecture.  July,    1915. 


148 


CITY  PLANNING 


answering  all  recreational  needs  of  the  community  of  large 
size,  has  a  very  low  operating  intensity  or  efficiency.  It 
is  considered  in  this  survey  to  have  an  effective  radius  of 
ten  miles  for  once-a-week  visits. 

Inasmuch  as  I  am  obviously  discussing  the  recreational 
features  of  city  planning  as  applying  to  the  numerous  com- 
munities under  a  half-million,  rather  than  to  the  few  above 


it,  I  may  be  pardoned  for  saying  that  there  is  little  use  in 
the  large  park  of  over  two  hundred  acres  in  one  body  as 
compared  with  the  recreation  center  and  the  small  park 
and   playground. 

Mr.  Comey's  classification  may  here  be  quoted.  He  con- 
siders that  a  two-acre  unit  may  be  called  a  playground  if 
properly  equipped,  wliile  a  twenty-five-acre  plot  is  a  recrea- 
tion center,  and  an  area  approximating  two  hundred  acres 
is  a  large  park. 

According  to  Mr.  Comey's  figuring  of  the  effective  radius 


GENERAL  RECREATION  FACILITIES  149 

of  a  playground,  it  is  efficient  only  within  one-third  of  a 
mile.  The  idea  in  Boston  has  been  to  arrange  a  play- 
ground, or  parkway,  or  recreation  center  within  a  half- 
mile  of  every  inhabitant.  Wise  city  planning  should,  there- 
fore, take  into  account  an  adequate  provision  of  either  play- 
ground or  recreation  center  within  not  more  than  a  half- 
mile  of  every  inhabitant  up  to  the  population  being  pro- 
vided for.  If  there  is  any  variation  from  this  formula,  it 
should  be  toward  greater  provision  in  the  congested  and 
industrial  population  centers,  and  less  provision  in  the  more 
open  and  well-to-do  residential  centers. 

In  replanning  cities,  which,  as  I  have  before  observed, 
needs  to  be  done  all  over  America,  the  same  formula  might 
be  applied,  as  far  as  the  cost  of  hindsight  will  permit.  It 
has  been  found  in  the  greatest  center  of  population,  New 
York  City,  to  be  cheaper  to  demolish  important  buildings 
in  order  to  provide  play  space  in  a  congested  neighborhood 
than  to  provide  additional  policemen  and  bury  more  people 
who  have  died  as  a  result  of  civic  neglect.  It  has  been 
found  in  other  cities  that  carrying  out  this  formula,  even 
at  some  considerable  expense,  very  fully  rewards  the  city 
in  the  increased  productive  persistence  at  labor  of  the  men, 
women,  and  children  who  are  re-created  in  consequence 
of  the  civic  provision. 

Investigation  seems  to  have  proved  that  the  recreation 
center  of  from  ten  to  twenty-five  acres,  especially  if  com- 
bined with  playground  facilities,  is  the  most  generally  eco- 
nomical item  of  a  park  equipment.  I  venture,  therefore, 
to  urge  that  in  future  recreational  planning  especial  empha- 
sis be  laid  upon  what  may  be  called  a  combination  of  play- 
ground, recreation  center,  and  small  park,  of  any  possible 
area  from  two  acres  up  to  twenty-five. 

Greater  efficiency  is  obtained  in  these  smaller  areas  if  a 
waterway  is  included,  and  it  is  right,  therefore,  to  call  at- 
tention to  the  importance  of  making  use  of  any  waterway 


150  CITY  PLANNING 

within  a  present  or  prospective  city.  I  can  call  to  mind 
at  least  a  dozen  American  cities  intersected  by  neglected, 
garbage-decorated,  and  frequently  unsanitary  streams,  the 
picturesque  value  of  which  has  long  since  given  way  to 
characteristic  American  disregard,  but  most  of  which  might 
be  rescued  with  vast  benefit  in  eflficiency,  because,  at  a 
relatively  moderate  expense,  they  are  likely  to  double  the 
eflPective  relation  of  recreational  areas  of  which  they  would 
form  a  part. 

In  the  same  way  it  may  be  considered  that  parkways  are 
of  special  efficiency.  A  parkway  is  not  a  mere  grass- 
plotted  street,  but  ought  to  include  a  minimum  width  of  at 
least  120  feet,  or,  better,  200  feet,  which,  while  providing 
access  between  items  in  the  park  layout,  is  in  itself  effica- 
cious in  affording  the  contiguous  population  an  opportunity 
for  passive  recreation,  or  what  the  tired  woman  who  sits 
on  a  bench  placed  on  a  grass  plot  under  a  tree  would  call 
"rest."  Just  here  I  may  interpose  a  suggestion  that  it 
is  possible,  by  proper  arrangement,  so  to  use  a  relatively 
small  area  as  to  combine  in  it  both  the  passive  and  the 
active  recreational  provisions.  Mr.  Parker  has,  in  Hart- 
ford, given  an  admirable  example  of  this,  and  in  a  very 
simple  and  workable  way.  In  the  center  of  a  small  area 
he  put  the  ordinary  playground  apparatus.  This  he  sur- 
rounded with  a  close  planting  of  trees  and  shrubs,  backed 
up  by  fixed  benches  facing  away.  The  result  is  that  those 
inclined  to  activity  have  scope  up  to  the  limit  of  the  space 
provided  in  the  center  of  this  little  plot,  while  there  is 
really  delightful  rest  opportunity  under  the  trees  and  on  the 
benches  facing  away  from  the  playground  and  considerably 
screened  from  its  activity  and  noise. 

Where  there  is  opportunity,  either  by  reason  of  gift,  or 
low  price,  or  fine  natural  features,  or  especial  proximity, 
to  include  in  city  recreational  planning  the  larger  areas,  it 
is  certain  that  such  action  is  well  worth  while :  always  pro- 


GENERAL  RECREATION  FACILITIES 


151 


vided  that  it  docs  not  involve  the  neglect  of  the  more  in- 
tensive recreational  facilities. 

This  larger  park  may  be  considered  in  three  relations. 
It  may  be  the  relatively  formal  park ;  as,  for  instance,  Cen- 
tral Park,  in  New  York,  where,  with  a  reasonable  attempt 
toward  the  showing  of  wild  nature,  there  is,  nevertheless, 
a  definite  provision  of  formal  and  architectural  details.  In 
the  present  stage  of  American  recreational  provision  I 
should  consider  such  a  park  as  mostly  a  luxury,  desirable 


WiLDwooD  Park,  Harrisburg,  Pennsylvania 


only  after  the  larger  needs  of  the  community  have  been 
cared   for. 

The  so-called  "wild  park,"  as  exemplified  in  Franklin 
Park,  Boston,  in  Wildwood  Park,  Harrisburg,  and  in  numer- 
ous other  fortunately  placed  areas,  is  a  better  use  of  a  con- 
siderable acreage.  In  these  parks  there  is  usually  natural 
woodland,  and  with  minor  clearing  up  this  is  left  as  wood- 
land. I  should  be  careless  did  I  not  suggest  caution  in 
relation  to  tlie  handling  of  wild  ])ark  areas  under  otiicr  than 
the  most  com])etent  and  careful  landscape  supervision,  for 
well-meaning  local  park  authorities,  and  some  incfiicient 
landscape   architects,   have   committed   great    enormities    in 


152  CITY  PLANNING 

what  tliey  call  "clearing  up"  in  wild  park  areas.  1  remem- 
ber one  case,  in  a  city  which  would  not  be  happy  at  men- 
tion of  its  misfortune,  where  such  action  resulted  in  cutting 
out  all  the  lovely  native  growth  of  shrubs  and  in  trimming 
up  the  trees  from  the  bottom  to  produce  a  grotesque  ef- 
fect. As  soon  as  this  mutilation  was  completed,  the  im- 
propriety of  it  was  noticed,  and  at  once  the  park  authori- 
ties of  that  city  started  to  grow  back  again  the  things  they 
had  just  torn  out !  By  all  means,  the  wild  features  of  any 
locality  should  be  preserved,  with  only  such  changes  as 
will  give  access  and  provide  entire  safety  from  poisonous 
plants  or  other  dangerous  or  objectionable  conditions. 

The  third  use  of  a  larger  area,  and  one  not  yet  under- 
taken to  any  serious  extent  in  the  United  States,  might  be 
in  connection  with  a  municipal  forest.  To  my  way  of 
thinking,  this  is  the  best  of  all  provisions  for  the  larger 
park  and  recreational  areas,  because  there  would  be  in  it 
a  combination  of  recreational  utility  and  financial  utility. 
It  is  entirely  practicable  to  conduct  economic  forestry  in 
connection  with  recreational  use,  there  being  some  slight 
giving  way  or  compromise  between  the  two  aims.  If  a 
city,  for  instance,  which  would  otherwise  be  able  to  carry 
but  one  park  of  two  hundred  or  three  hundred  acres  should 
instead  be  conducting  forestry  operations  over  an  area  of 
a  thousand  acres,  it  could  be  confidently  expected  that 
within  the  space  of  a  generation  the  forest  park  would  be 
serving  quite  adequately  all  the  uses  of  a  wild  park,  and 
at  the  same  time  fully  carrying  its  own  cost  in  actual  timber 
production.  It  would  also  be  providing  as  a  unit,  small  but 
nevertheless  efficient,  for  the  conservation  of  climatic  and 
meteorological  conditions  in  a  way  which  I  am  sure  within 
the  next  generation  will  be  found  to  be  extremely  impor- 
tant in  the  eastern  United  States. 

Objection  may  be  made  that  the  municipal  forests  of 
Europe  are  frequently  at  a  considerable  distance  from  the 


GENERAL  RECREATION  FACILITIES  153 

city.  This  is  quite  true;  yet,  according  to  Mr.  Comey's 
article  above  cited,  people  will  go  considerable  distances, 
up  to  ten  miles,  without  the  forestry  relation,  and  certainly 
up  to  twenty-five  or  fifty  miles  with  the  forestry  relation, 
for  week-end  parties,  or  overnight  camping,  or  for  that 
ramble  in  the  wild  which  answers  a  recreational  need  not 
provided  in  any  other  way. 

The  rapidly  increasing  efficiency  of  our  national  parks 
indicates  the  strength  of  this  position  as  to  the  need  of 
the  larger  wild  areas,  though,  as  yet,  largely  due  to  an 
unfortunate  departmental  separation,  the  forests  and  the 
national  parks  are  not  administered  in  harmony  or  in  mu- 
tual service  one  with  the  other.  It  has  been  found  that 
in  a  single  year  approximately  four  thousand  families  have 
teamed  into  the  Yellowstone  National  Park  to  camp,  some 
coming  even  a  hundred  miles  for  a  week's  inexpensive  and 
upbuilding  vacation. 

It  is  probably  not  within  the  scope  of  this  consideration 
to  discuss  the  value  of  providing  for  vacation  places  at  a 
low  cost:  I  should  call  that  consideration  a  part  of  state 
planning  rather  than  of  city  planning.  Nevertheless,  it  may 
here  be  merely  mentioned  as  one  of  the  items  of  recrea- 
tional consideration  that  needs  to  be  taken  up ;  for  it  is 
certain  that  your  chauffeur  needs  for  his  family  a  vacation 
opportunity  in  the  open  quite  as  much  as  you  need  that 
vacation  opportunity  in  the  open,  while  he  must  provide 
his  on  a  scale  of  probably  twenty  per  cent,  of  your  expendi- 
ture. I  conceive  that  the  state  can  very  well  see  to  it  that 
the  man  of  limited  income  is  given  adequate  and  inexpensive 
vacational  opportunities  in  publicly  owned  areas,  for  tiie 
U])keej)  of  which  he  in  common  with  his  fellow  citizens  is 
taxed. 

Possibly  somewhat  out  of  its  order,  and  certainly  very 
briefly,  because  the  subject  has  been  adequately  written  of 
elsewhere,  T  wish  to  discuss  the  j^laygromid  relation.     Km- 


154  CITY  PLANNING 

phasis  has  been  laid  upon  the  need  of  playgrounds.  Fur- 
ther emphasis  needs  to  be  laid  upon  the  quality  and  main- 
tenance of  these  playgrounds,  A  mere  open  space  is  not 
a  playground.  An  open  space  equipped  with  apparatus  is 
not  a  playground  in  the  true  sense.  It  is  when  the  open 
space  is  equipped  with  apparatus  and  there  is  added  the 
attention  of  skilled  playground  workers  to  teach  and  super- 
,vise  and  encourage  play,  from  swinging  and  tennis-playing 
to  cooking  and  raffia-weaving,  that  a  playground  really 
becomes  an  efficient  part  of  a  community's  recreational  fa- 
cilities. I  urge,  therefore,  that  in  city  planning  there  be 
no  lack  of  full  consideration  for  the  necessity  of  equip- 
ment and  maintenance  in  connection  with  playgrounds. 

A  word  may  be  said  as  to  the  proportional  area  required 
in  recreational  provision  in  average  communities.  There 
has  been  adopted  a  somewhat  empirical  formula  to  the  ef- 
fect that  a  well-planned  city  ought  to  have  an  acre  of  parks 
for  every  one  hundred  of  its  inhabitants.  If  this  should 
be  set  as  a  standard,  it  would  be  found  that  in  the  United 
States  not  a  half-dozen  cities  approximate  it.  At  the  mo- 
ment I  can  think  of  but  three  that  I  am  sure  of,  and  the 
adequate  and  admirable  area  in  one  of  these  is  rendered 
less  efficient  by  lack  of  proximity,  because  one  item  of  106 
acres  is  a  large  island  in  a  great  river,  accessible  only  by 
an  incidental  rope  ferry. 

It  will  not  be  difficult  to  combine  Mr.  Comey's  cited 
formula  of  efficiency  with  the  ideal  provision  of  an  acre 
for  every  one  hundred  people  in  such  a  fashion  as  to 
show  that  in  an  average  city  there  ought  to  be  an  efficient 
acre  of  recreation  space  certainly  for  every  two  hundred 
and  fifty  people.  In  planning  new  cities  the  more  liberal 
proportion  would  unquestionably  be  observed  if  there  was 
wise  planning ;  yet  we  are  not  without  instances  of  a  total 
omission  of  any  such  consideration  in  the  planning  of  in- 
dustrial towns  within  a  generation   in  the  United   States. 


GENERAL  RECREATION  FACILITIES  155 

Just  why  a  man  with  brains  in  his  head,  operating  toward 
heaven  instead  of  in  the  other  direction,  should  in  laying 
out  a  city  in  the  wild,  to  be  newly  created,  take  full  cog- 
nizance of  the  need  for  hospitals,  jails,  and  cemeteries,  and 
absolutely  omit  any  definite  attempt  to  reduce  the  demand 
upon  them  by  a  provision  for  parks,  playgrounds,  and  park- 
ways, I  do  not  know. 

All  through  this  chapter  I  have  spoken  of  the  efificient 
use  of  recreational  areas.  Therefore,  in  now  discussing  the 
equipment  for  recreation  outside  of  playgrounds,  I  must 
often  refer  to  what  has  already  been  written.  A  horrible 
example  may  serve  as  a  point  from  which  to  depart.  In  a 
certain  mid-western  city  of  less  than  a  hundred  thousand 
inhabitants  there  is  a  park  of  twenty-one  acres,  which  costs 
just  $21,000  a  year  to  keep  going.  Its  chief  adornment  is 
the  superintendent's  residence,  which  includes  a  curious 
assembling  of  all  the  architectural  monstrosities  that  were 
known  when  it  was  built.  There  is  a  moth-eaten  "Zoo," 
with  some  pathetically  crowded  animals  still  existing  in  it. 
There  are  some  elaborate  clipped  flower-beds,  including 
contortions  in  geometric  form,  and  then  there  is  a  sleekly 
paved  roadway  leading  to  the  one  high  spot  in  the  little 
area,  from  which  it  is  discovered,  when  one  attempts  to  get 
a  general  view,  that  such  possible  view  has  been  wholly  shut 
out  by  planting  especially  designed  for  that  j^urpose ! 

It  may  be  said  in  reference  to  this  dreadful  park  that  it 
is  absolutely  useless  for  recreational  ]nn-poses.  It  has  not 
a  restful  inch  in  it.  It  has  no  provision  for  activities  of 
any  sort.  It  is  simply  a  municipal  mess,  a  civic  travesty,  a 
park   inadequacy. 

Now  the  same  amount  of  money  a])])licd  in  another  city 
over  a  larger  area  has  provided  such  recreational  facilities 
for  an  cqui\alcnt  ])0]nilalion  as  to  bring  about  more  than  a 
million  j)ark  \isits  in  each  year,  and  distinctly  to  ini])ro\c 
public  order  and   Dublic  healtli.     I'lic  difference  is  in  the 


156  CITY  PLANNING 

ideal.  It  is  this  ideal  I  would  urge  upon  city  planners ; 
namely,  that  recreation  equipment  shall  be  aimed  for  re- 
creation, and  not  for  decoration. 

As  to  the  cost  of  maintaining  parks  per  acre,  I  may  say 
that  it  varies  so  tremendously,  by  reason  of  the  differing 
quality  of  maintenance,  that  any  citation  is  useless.  What- 
ever the  proper  recreational  provision  costs  in  any  Ameri- 
can community  in  the  absence  of  misapplication  of  funds, 
it  is  cheap  in  comparison  with  what  the  definite  result  is 
sure  to  be.  Speaking  broadly,  it  ought  to  be  expected  that 
if  the  town  or  city  under  consideration  is  assessed  at  any- 
thing like  an  honest  valuation  of  its  property  for  tax  pur- 
poses, a  park  appropriation  of  one-half  mill  on  the  assess- 
ment, or  fifty  cents  on  the  thousand  dollars,  will  be  fairly 
adequate.  There  is  considerable  advantage  in  this  form 
of  maintenance  financing,  because  it  expands  with  the  in- 
creasing wealth  and  population  of  the  community.  When 
arbitrary  appropriations  are  made,  park  authorities  are 
always  forced  to  combat,  sometimes  to  their  despair,  the 
ignorance  of  the  financiers,  who  consider  recreational  pro- 
vision as  a  luxury. 

Reference  has  heretofore  been  made  to  Mr.  George  A. 
Parker's  novel  ideas.  I  wish  to  mention  but  one  more, 
which  it  seems  to  me  might  very  well  be  considered  and 
carried  out  in  connection  with  city  planning  of  recreational 
facilities.  INIr.  Parker  believes  that  a  park  system  may  be 
made  self-sustaining  if  the  city  will  undertake  to  invite 
the  average  recreational  expenditure  of  two  cents  per  hour 
of  its  inhabitants,  for  one  hour  a  day.^  He  would  do  this 
by  including  the  "movie"  as  well  as  the  refectory  within  the 
park  and  playground  activities,  and  he  would  also  do  other 
things  that  afford  upbuilding  recreation  as  a  city  function. 
Tie  has  figured  that  inasmuch  as  the  city  is  of  absolute  re- 

^  "Can  Public  Parks  of  Cities  be  Made  Sclf-Supporting?"  Address 
to  American  Civic  Association,  Baltimore,  1912. 


GENERAL  RECREATION  EACILITIES  157 

sponsibility,  can  buy  in  the  cheapest  market  on  the  best 
terms,  an.d  need  not  provide  either  a  profit  or  any  interest 
on  its  investments  for  civic  service,  it  can  do  more  for  less 
money  than  is  possible  in  any  private  provision.  In  fact, 
his  plan  seems  to  show  that  it  is  impossible  to  avoid  a 
profit  in  conducting  a  city  park,  with  an  attempt  to  sell 
everything  at  cost  and  to  furnish  much  service  free. 

In  recreational  consideration  the  question  of  concessions 
for  the  doing  of  things  that  need  to  be  done  for  the  public 
in  parks  will  inevitably  arise.  In  this  case  there  is  to  be 
combated  the  bad  American  habit  of  being  willing  to  shirk 
public  duty  for  private  advantage.  The  idea  of  the  conces- 
sioner must  be  to  give  as  little  as  he  can  for  what  he  gets, 
whereas  the  proper  idea  of  civic  service  is  to  give  as  much 
as  possible  for  what  is  received.  I  wish,  therefore,  to  go 
on  record  as  being  unalterably  opposed  to  the  granting  of 
park  concessions  or  any  other  concessions  in  connection 
with  recreational  facilities  maintained  or  proposed  by  any 
organized  community.  The  giving  of  such  concessions  is  a 
combination  of  civic  laziness,  incapacity  and  maladminis- 
tration. The  magnificent  recreational  work  of  Chicago's 
South  Park  system  above  cited  is  the  best  example  that 
service  can  be  rendered  properly  to  the  people  directly  by 
recreational  authorities,  and  not  through  the  funnel  of  a 
man  who  in  his  own  self-interest  must  pour  out  a  profit. 

This  survey  of  recreation  facilities  in  city  planning  is  of 
value  only,  if  at  all,  when  considered  in  connection  with 
the  general  ideal  of  community  service.  Government  in 
American  communities  has  too  long  been  an  irksome  bother 
to  be  gotten  through  with  in  any  way  that  would  be  pass- 
able. We  have  swung  tlic  pendulum  of  individualism  so 
far  from  its  o])positc  of  ])aternalism  that  we  have  at  times 
been  unchristian  in  ideal,  and  certainly  inefficient  in  fact. 
I  hope,  therefore,  tliat  whoever  attcm]its  a  proper  consid- 
eration of  recreational  facilities  in  city  planning  work  will 


IS8  CITY  PLANNING 

have  before  him  an  adequate  ideal  of  service  to  the  indi- 
vidual, to  be  as  honestly  and  thoughtfully  rendered  as  ser- 
vice is  now  rendered  in  many  private  agencies.  Such  ser- 
vice ought  to  give  those  who  are  concerned  with  it  the 
greatest  satisfaction,  for  it  is  life-saving,  health-building, 
community-uplifting,  and,  putting  it  all  in  one  word,  abso- 
lutely Christian :  "Inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  it  unto  one  of 
the  least  of  these  my  brethren,  ye  have  done  it  unto  me." 


CHAPTER   VIII 
PARK    SYSTEMS* 

In  the  reservation  of  land  for  parks  and  other  open 
spaces,  it  should  be  clearly  understood  that  the  end  is  not 
primarily  to  l)eautify  nor  to  add  a  luxury  to  a  city's  pos- 
sessions. On  the  contrary,  it  is  the  profoundly  important 
matter  of  securing  essential  recreation  for  a  city's  popula- 
tion, and  a  reasonably  high  standard  for  property  develop- 
ment. Without  reservations  for  parks,  playgrounds,  etc., 
and  the  proper  platting  of  streets  and  parkways,  the  more 
influential  and  independent  citizens  will  go  beyond  the  city's 
limits  to  pleasanter  regions,  where  streets  are  laid  at  easy 
grades  conforming  to  the  topography,  and  where  ample 
reservation  of  open  spaces  will  secure  the  pleasant  pros- 
pects appropriate  to  a  region  of  homes. 

These  are  facts  which  people  in  cities  which  have  passed 
through  the  experience  of  park  reservation  have  learned  to 
appreciate.  Park  reservations  serve  distinctly  practical 
purposes,  providing  refreshing  opportunities  for  outdoor 
life,  and  an  element  of  permanence  to  a  neighborhood 
which  serves  to  fix  the  real  estate  values.  Owners  facing  a 
park  know  that  the  outlook  is  thus  secured,  and  they  build 
and  settle  with  confidence. 

The  question  may  still  be  asked  by  some  who  have  not 
followed  the  history  of  American  parks,  "Of  what  use  are 
these  parks?    Why  not  continue  the  buildings  of  brick  and 

^  This  chapter  is   liascd   partly  upon   the  author's   reports   on   the 
park  systi'ms  for  various  American  cities. 

159 


i6o 


CITY  PLANNING 


stone  over  an  unbroken  area  indefinitely,  as  the  city  de- 
velops?"    The  answer  is  that  cities  can  never  be  whole- 

A  COMPABLISOJ^  OP  PARK  ACHHTVEMENT 


TaUt,   Ahowino 
SupfJieJ  for 
varying    size 

■Hte   approximate  N-  of  a  era  of 
each    lOOO    of  populaiion  in  fy^ 
,   a^&    and    i^o^raphical  dii4r 

'  developed  park    area 
oicai  American  Ciries,   of 
'Out  ion. 

Ciiy 

1910-Popula-l-ion 

N°  of  developed   acres  per 
1000     inhabi-l-anis 

Mm£AP0LI5 

3o/,4oe 

IZ  Hcrei 

MADISON 

ZS,S3>i 

f 

lasAcres 

KANSAS  CITY 

Z^&.Stl 

la  Acrei 

BOSTON  * 

i,soo,ooo 

e.4Acre$ 

NEW  HAVEN 

I23,C0S 

&.I  Acrei 

57.  PAUL 

Z  14, 744- 

6,6  Acres 

DENVER 

213,581 

47  Acrei 

BALTIMORE 

SSBA8S' 

43  Acres 

SPOKANE 

IC4,4oX 

3.8  Acres 

SEATTLE 

Z37,IS>-i- 

3.3  Acres 

CINCINNATI 

3C3,S9/ 

z.  7  Acres 

5UFFAL0 

423,7  IS 

ZS  Acres 

LOSANGELES 

400,000 

o.sAcre 

■ 

*  Mthopelilan     Di's-lric^ 

somely  and  economically  built  in  this  way.  Especially  in 
our  rapidly  growing  American  cities  it  is  vitally  necessary 
to   recognize    certain    laws    on    which    wholesome   physical 


PARK  SYSTKMS 


i6i 


development  of   the  community   depends,   precisely  as   we 
recognize  laws  on  which  the  physical  development  of  the 

ACOMPAMSOV  or  park:  exdeavors* 


"f 


corn- 


Tie   aa^ree    of  earnesineAi   ty/rJi    tv/iici   various    crfies 
are  Acckms  to   accompl/ili    park   service.       A  uniform  bans 
parison     reaaraless     of  s/ze,  aae  or  /ocaliry. 
Tai/e  shoirina  r/ie  approximaro   yearly  park  cKpenJiTure  per  /OOO   of  pop 
u/arion    w  iypical    American    CUies. 


Annua/  pari    expencJi4ure 
per  /OOO    inhaLrhtrrfs 


Cl-fy 

MINNEAPOLIS 


J 9/0-  Populahon 


3>0  i,40Si 


43ns 


SPOKANE 


lo-i.^oz 


CHICACrO 


z^ias,z85 


KANSAS  CITY 


Z4e>,38/ 


DENVER. 


ZI3,3ei 


CLEVELAND 


£C.O,i,Ci 


M3Z 


BALTIMORE 


PORTLAND 


Z07,ZJ4 


DETROIT 


■4c~S,  7<i6 


SANfRAMCISCO 


4'C,9/Z 


SEATTLE 


Z  57,194 


50ST0N* 


/  Soo,ooo 


OES  MOINES 


8i^3CS 


BUFFALO 


4Z3,  7/S 


LOSANGELES 


400,000 


*.l<Ui.cpol,-la„     Di^ir,  c  / 


3  Main  sysiemi   only 


individual  depends.     Never  have  cities  failed  to  api)rcciate 

^  J  his  chart  and  the  one  on  the  precethni;  page  were  i)repared  to 
])rovidc  a  comparison  of   Los  Angeles  with  other  cities. 


i62  CITY  PLANNING 

the  need  for  freedom  and  elbow  room,  for  more  direct  con- 
tact with  nature. 

A  certain  ratio  should  be  maintained  between  the  popu- 
lation of  a  city  and  the  area  reserved  for  open  spaces.  As 
the  city  develops,  it  is  a  short-sighted  policy  that  fails  to 
maintain  this  ratio,  one  which  leads  eventually  to  low  prop- 
erty valuation,  if  not  to  slum  conditions,  and  to  ill-favored 
succeeding  generations.  A  certain  complement  of  fresh 
air,  of  open  space,  of  touch  with  nature,  proves  in  the  ex- 
perience of  cities  vitally  essential  for  wholesome  develop- 
ment. Response  to  this  need  results  in  high  grade  improve- 
ments and  in  sound,  unfluctuating  values — two  of  the  chief 
factors  in  civic  wellbeing. 

Every  city  worthy  of  the  name  has  public  parks  of  some 
sort,  and  they  are  now  recognized  as  a  necessity  of  city 
life,  just  as  streets  and  water  and  schools  are  a  necessity. 
They  contribute  to  the  pleasure  and  health  of  urban  popu- 
lations more  than  any  other  recreative  feature,  and  furnish 
the  most  necessary  and  valuable  antidote  to  the  artificiality, 
confusion,  and  feverishness  of  life  in  cities.  At  the  present 
time  the  value  of  parks  and  open  spaces  in  towns  and  cities 
is  very  generally  appreciated.  It  is  recognized  that  such 
facilities  as  parks  afford  are  not  only  desirable,  but  in- 
creasingly necessary ;  in  fact,  indispensable.  In  a  vague 
way  there  is  approval,  too,  of  a  large  increase  in  both  parks 
and  playgrounds.  But  few  even  of  the  more  intelligent 
communities  appear  yet  to  understand  with  any  clearness 
that  these  open  spaces  in  cities  are  of  great  variety ;  that 
they  are,  or  should  be,  selected  and  developed  by  experts 
to  serve  essentially  different  purj^oses.  and  that  the  failure 
to  appreciate  this  fact  and  to  keep  it  constantly  in  mind 
leads  to  great  waste  and  inefficiency  in  our  public  grounds. 


PARK  SYSTEMS  163 


Principles  in  the  Selection  of  Park  Lands 

There  are  a  few  principles  in  the  selection  o^  lands  for 
parks,  parkways,  and  playgrounds  which  are  finding  in- 
creasing acceptance  by  city  authorities.  Briefly  stated,  they 
are  as  follows : 

1.  To  acquire  those  easily  accessible  small  tracts  in  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  city  which  may  most  cheaply  be  adapted 
to  serve  as  local  playgrounds,  neighborhood  or  recreation 
centers. 

2.  To  seek  also  some  moderately  large  tracts,  even 
though  less  accessible  for  the  present  generation,  provided 
they  are  capable  of  conversion  at  relatively  small  cost, 
which  will  have  the  beauty  of  natural  scenery. 

3.  To  acquire  property  for  large  parks  in  advance  of  a 
general  settlement  of  the  neighborhood. 

4.  To  select  generally,  but  not  always,  lands  which  are 
not  well  adapted  topographically  for  streets  and  buildings. 

5.  To  distribute  the  parks  and  playgrounds  over  the 
city  in  such  a  way  as  to  give  the  maximum  of  use  to  the 
people  who  will  be  called  upon  to  pay  for  their  acquisition, 
development,  and  maintenance. 

Thus  the  establishment  of  a  system  of  parks  and  pleasure 
grounds  for  a  rapidly  growing  city  is  one  of  the  most  diffi- 
cult and  responsible  duties  that  ever  falls  to  a  city  govern- 
ment, involving  as  it  does  the  expenditure  of  large  sums  of 
money,  and  the  construction  of  many  permanent  works. 
The  land  selected  should  be  accessil)le  for  all  classes  of 
citizens  by  walking,  driving,  riding,  or  liy  means  of  cars ; 
adaptable  in  the  greatest  degree  for  the  particular  park 
purposes  to  be  served  ;  inexpensive,  and,  so  far  as  practi- 
cable, located  so  as  to  disturb  the  natural  growth  of  the 
city  as  little  as  possible. 


i64  CITY  PLANNING 


Classes  of  Parks 


The  term  "parks"  is  used  in  a  loose  sense  to  cover  all 
sorts  of  public  grounds.  City  squares,  commons,  public 
gardens,  playgrounds,  neighborhood  centers,  parkways, 
large  outlying  reservations  or  forests,  and  parks  proper — 
all  are  loosely  termed  "parks." 

City  squares,  commons,  and  public  gardens  are  usually 
of  small  size,  and  are  to  be  found  in  the  business  as  well 
as  the  residential  sections  of  cities.  Their  practical  func- 
tions are  to  furnish  agreeable  views  for  those  passing  by 
or  through  them,  to  provide  a  pleasant  resting  place  for 
those  who  take  the  time  to  use  them  in  this  manner,  and  in 
some  cases  to  afford  an  appropriate  and  agreeable  fore- 
ground or  approach  to  public  or  quasi-public  buildings. 

Playgrounds  are  essentially  different  from  squares,  and 
should  be  selected  and  designed  primarily  for  play.  For 
convenience,  they  are  usually  divided  into  three  classes, 
those  for  little  tots,  those  for  children  of  the  school  age, 
and  those  for  older  boys  and  men,  or  for  girls  and  women. 
In  no  other  department  of  public  recreation  has  there  re- 
cently been  such  a  great  development.  The  Yearbook  of 
the  Playground  Association  of  America  shows  that  out  of 
1,050  cities  and  towns  in  the  United  States  and  Canada 
having  a  population  of  5,000  or  over,  342  maintain  super- 
vised playgrounds,  and  the  actual  number  of  playgrounds 
conducted  in  these  cities  is  2,402.  Reliable  figures  showing 
the  appropriation  for  playgrounds  are  incomplete,  but  the 
returns  from  about  one-half  of  the  cities  show  an  expendi- 
ture in  1914  of  over  $5,000,000. 

Parkways  and  boulevards  are  agreeable  promenades  in 
themselves,  and  serve  usually  as  pleasant  means  of  access 
to  parks  from  the  various  parts  of  the  city,  or  as  connec- 
tions from  one  park  to  another.     A  parkway  is  apt  to  in- 


PARK  SYSTEMS  165 

elude  more  breadth  of  turf  or  ground  planted  with  trees 
and  shrubbery  than  a  boulevard,  giving  it  a  more  parklike 
character  and  inducing  a  less  formal  treatment  of  the  roads, 
paths,  and  accessory  features.  Boulevards  are  usually  ar- 
ranged more  formally,  with  straight  rows  of  shade  trees, 
and  parallel  ways  for  pedestrians  and  vehicles. 

One  of  the  chief  features  of  a  city  park  system  is  the 
large  park,  comprising  from  200  to  i,ocx3  acres  or  even 
more.  Its  main  purpose  is  to  place  within  the  reach  of  the 
people  of  a  city  the  enjoyment  of  such  a  measure  as  is 
practicable  of  pleasant,  rural  scenery.  The  justification  of 
its  size,  interfering  as  it  does  with  streets  and  other  city 
development,  is  the  necessity  for  spaciousness  in  the  pro- 
duction of  scenery  that  is  broad  and  natural  and  beautiful. 
One  of  the  chief  problems  of  the  landscape  architect  or 
park  planner  is  to  make  these  parks  available  and  useful 
to  great  numbers  of  people  without  destroying  the  natural 
appearance  of  their  scenery,  the  main  purpose  for  which 
they  have  been  created. 

These  various  classes  or  types  of  outdoor  recreation 
facilities  may  for  the  sake  of  convenience  be  divided  into 
seven  types,  as  follows : 

1.  School  grounds. 

2.  Playgrounds   for  small  children. 

3.  Playfields  for  baseball,  etc. 

4.  Neighborhood  parks. 

5.  Community  parks. 

6.  Reservations  or  forests. 

7.  Parkways. 

These  types  may  again  be  divided  into  two  more  groups, 
the  first  four  representing  what  may  be  termed  scattered 
facilities,  whicli  are  repeated  tliroughout  the  city,  and  the 
last  three  connected  facilities,  which  in  a  way  serve  the 
community  as  a  whole,  and  which  are  linked  up  in  such  a 
way  as  to  form  a  park  system. 


i66  CITY  PLANNING 

These  types  of  outdoor  recreation  facilities  can  be  very 
profitably  and  economically  interrelated  as  suggested  in  the 
following : 

Type  I :  Usually  isolated,  especially  in  older  built  up  sec- 
tions. Has  a  decided  advantage  in  being  ad- 
jacent to  2,  4,  or  7,  and  can  well  be  located  some- 
times at  edge  of  5  and  6. 

Type  2  :  Often  isolated,  but  can  well  be  included  in  1,3,  4, 
and  7,  or  on  residential  side  of  5  and  6. 

Type  3:  Occasionally  isolated;  gains  by  being  adjacent 
to  7,  and  can  be  designed  as  part  of  5  and  6. 

Type  4 :  Usually  isolated,  but  gains  by  being  adjacent 
to  7. 

Type  5 :  Independent,  but  should  form  a  link  in  park 
system,  being  joined  to  other  units  by  7.  If 
carefully  designed,  it  may  contain  i,  2,  and  3. 

Type  6 :  Independent  and  at  a  distance,  but  tied  to  system 
by  7.  In  rightly  designed  areas  may  contain  i, 
2,  and  3. 

Type  7 :  Links  in  the  general  system.  In  the  broader 
parts  I  and  2  can  be  included. 

Park  Systems 

The  conviction  is  steadily  spreading  in  the  United  States 
that  a  city  needs  not  only  to  provide  itself  with  each  class 
or  type  of  recreation  grounds,  but  that  these  grounds  in 
their  main  or  general  features  should  be  outlined,  ac- 
quired, and  developed  as  a  system,  each  part  having  relation 
to  every  other  part.  Just  as  a  city  needs  a  street  system,  a 
school  system,  a  water  system,  a  drainage  system,  and  sys- 
tems to  provide  for  its  other  municipal  activities,  so  it 
needs  a  comprehensive,  well-distributed,  well-developed 
system  of  parks  and  pleasure  grounds.     As  yet  few  Ameri- 


PARK  SYSTEMS 


167 


can  cities  have  been  able  to  secure  a  well-balanced  park 
system.  Some  cities  have  a  liberal  provision  of  public 
squares  but  few  playgrounds  and  parks  and  no  parkways. 
Others  have  large  parks  and  boulevards  but  no  play- 
grounds, while  still  others  have  parks  and  boulevards  and 


DIAGRAM  OF  THE  PUBLIC  OPEN  SPACES  OF  THE  METROPOLITAN  PARKS  DISTRICT  IN  1912 

y^^f^\^^^^f^^^^K 

y4 /'    r'"C\    -■i:^'^Mr:A'T'^&^2P^~^~^)^w^^  ^^\ 

0  ^n^^!^^^^^\        \ 

'\ 

0'*." 

vl      iix  <^v  ^j'^y^P^^'^gc-^'^r          H'^^c,  i\  1 

^"^  tff\M^^^^^m    "^"-'^'^--C^ 

3© 

1  /v-Ai    norw  ^Dft/-co                    ^^~~~~^^^^^^^7^'  J>*''^        METRCPOLrTAN 

CPOi  SPACES  1       1 

e 

playgrounds  but  few  public  squares.  Many  examples 
could  be  given  of  the  unsatisfactory,  incomplete,  and  one- 
sided way  in  wliich  our  so-called  park  systems  have  been 
developed.  The  public  grounds  of  ])ractically  all  of  our 
cities  have  l^een  selected  and  improved  l)y  isolated  and 
desultory  proceedings.  The  result  in  most  cases  has  led 
to  an  unnecessary  waste  of  money  and  opportunity.     Hap- 


i68  CITY  PLANNING 

pily,  there  are  exceptions.  With  the  aid  of  expert  advice,  a 
few  of  the  larger  cities  have  worked  out  thoughtful  and 
consistent  plans,  and  in  the  Middle  West  even  the  small 
cities  have  conceived  a  system,  and  gradually,  piece  by 
piece,  this  system  is  being  patiently  acquired  and  executed. 


The  Justification  of  Parks 

There  are  at  least  four  important  reasons  to  Justify  the 
early  selection  of  park  lands,  and  the  development  of  a 
park  system,  by  a  growing  city.  In  the  first  place,  prop- 
erty is  steadily  increasing  in  value  in  such  a  city.  It  is  not 
likely  to  be  cheaper.  It  not  only  increases  in  value,  but  the 
construction  of  buildings  upon  it  is  apt  to  make  its  ac- 
quisition more  difficult.  Secondly,  when  park  lands  are 
once  bought,  they  increase  in  value.  All  other  public 
works  depreciate;  parks  appreciate.  The  history  of  Amer- 
ican park  property  enforces  this  point.  Then,  again,  the 
experience  of  our  cities  shows  that  parks  pay  for  them- 
selves by  making  higher  land  values.  One  of  the  argu- 
ments which  has  most  influenced  real  estate  owners  and 
tax  payers  generally  is  the  direct  eflfect  of  park  acquisitions 
upon  the  value  of  city  property,  and,  therefore,  their  indi- 
rect influence  upon  the  city's  income  from  the  taxation  of 
land.^  Finally,  a  sound  park  policy,  vigorously  and  con- 
sistently pushed  by  public  authority,  usually  brings  rich 
gifts  from  private  individuals.  The  history  of  American 
city  parks  furnishes  much  encouraging  evidence  in  support 
of  this  tendency.  Cities  that  own  few  parks  seldom  receive 
gifts  for  park  purposes.  On  the  other  hand,  cities  like 
Hartford,  Conn.,  and   Boston,   Mass.,  that  have   long  and 

*  For  definite  examples  of  financial  results,  sec  John  Nolen : 
"General  Plan  of  a  Park  and  Playground  System  for  New  Lon- 
don, Conn.,"  pp.  2S-41    (1913). 


PARK  SYSTEMS  169 

honorable  records  in  public  park  making,  have  an  equally 
long  and  honorable  record  of  private  gifts  for  parks. 


Methods  of  Payment  for  Park  Lands 

Park  lands  bought  by  a  city  may  be  paid  for  from  an- 
nual taxation,  by  bond  issues,  by  special  assessment,  or  by 
the  application  of  excess  condemnation. 

As  a  rule,  except  in  the  case  of  relatively  small  areas, 
it  is  better  not  to  pay  for  park  lands  from  annual  taxation. 
They  are  purchased  largely  for  the  benefit  of  future  gen- 
erations, and  unless  they  come  under  the  special  assess- 
ment plan,  it  seems  more  equitable  to  issue  park  bonds. 

The  financial  problems  connected  with  bonds  issued  for 
the  acquisition  of  land  and  the  planning  of  permanent  im- 
provements in  parks  have  been  well  discussed  in  the  valu- 
able report  of  Olmsted  Brothers  to  the  Park  Board  of 
Portland,  Oregon.^  In  that  report  the  landscape  archi- 
tects write  as  follows : 

A  city  having'  many  or  extensive  opportunities  for  parks 
and  parkways  should  promptly  avail  itself  of  thcni  even  at 
serious  financial  sacrifice.  Such  a  city  may  wisely  mortgage 
its  future  wealth  much  more  heavily  by  the  issue  of  long-term 
bonds  for  the  acquirement  and  preservation  of  beautiful  nat- 
ural scenery  than  a  city  relatively  devoid  of  such  opportunities, 
provided  there  is  a  reasonable  probability  of  attracting  to 
itself  therc!)y  well-to-do  and  wealthy  families,  because  such 
improvements  tend  to  draw  to  the  city  wealth,  the  taxation  of 
which  may  more  than  repay  the  city  for  the  outlay.  The  same 
is  true  as  to  sections  of  a  city  having  natural  advantages  for 
residences. 

It  is  particularly  urgent  that  a  city  having  beautiful  local 
scenery  a(la])ted  for  parks  and  parkways  should  secure  the 
land  betimes  lest  these  natural  advantages  be  destroyed  or  ir- 

'  Sec  l\nk  and  Coitctrry.  Cliicago,  Til.,  July,  KjaS. 


170  CITY  PLANNING 

reparably  injured  by  the  owners.  Many  of  the  older  cities 
would  now  pay  very  high  prices  for  land  covered  with  the 
primeval  forest  which  the  early  inhabitants  destroyed  and 
which  might  once  have  been  obtained  for  a  few  dollars  an 
acre.  Efforts  are  now  being  made  in  many  cities  to  secure 
even  narrow  and  unsatisfactory  boulevards  which  might  have 
cost  nothing  for  land  besides  being  wider  and  handsomer  if 
those  who  originally  determined  the  width  of  the  principal 
streets  had  drawn  the  side  lines  twice  as  far  apart.  Even  now, 
opportunities  for  widening,  at  very  moderate  cost,  trunk  thor- 
oughfares outside  the  closely  built  area  of  most  cities  are  being 
carelessly  allowed  to  pass  by.  Unless  parks  properly  distrib- 
uted, located  and  bounded  to  best  preserve  beautiful  local 
scenery  and  to  accomplish  the  essential  purposes  they  are  de- 
signed for  are  secured  while  the  land  is  comparatively  unoc- 
cupied by  expensive  improvements,  they  rarely  can  be  secured 
at  all.  To  take  an  extreme  case  one  has  only  to  consider  how 
utterly  impossible  it  would  now  be  for  the  city  of  New  York 
to  secure  on  Manhattan  Island  another  such  park  as  Central 
Park.  But  even  if  a  sufficient  area  of  land  for  a  park  should 
remain  vacant  near  the  heart  of  a  city  it  is  almost  certain  to 
rise  to  a  value  that  is  prohibitory,  and  this  alone  is  a  suffi- 
cient reason  for  taking  parks  betimes.  There  is  still  a  large 
vacant  area  west  of  the  Boston  Park  called  The  Fens,  but 
whereas  the  land  occupied  by  The  Fens  cost,  twenty-six  years 
ago,  only  lo  cents  a  square  foot,  or  about  $4,300  an  acre,  this 
vacant  land  adjoining  it  would  doubtless  cost  now  consider- 
ably more  than  $2.00  a  square  foot  on  an  average,  or  over 
$86,000  an  acre. 

There  is  a  very  commendable  disinclination  on  the  part  of 
legislatures  to  pass  laws  authorizing  long-term  municipal 
loans  and  in  favor  of  keeping  a  comparatively  low  limit  on  the 
total  amount  which  cities  are  allowed  to  borrow.  But  the  case 
of  loans  for  purchase  of  land,  especially  land  for  a  park  sys- 
tem, is  very  decidedly  different  from  that  of  loans  for  most 
other  municipal  improvements.  It  is  unwise  for  cities,  as  for 
business  men  and  corporations,  to  borrow  more  than  a  safe 
fraction   of  their   marketal)le   assets,   or   so  much   that   the   in- 


PARK  SYSTEMS  171 

terest  and  the  annual  sinking  fund  payments  will  be  possibly 
greater  than  the  sure  income  applicable  to  these  purposes  dur- 
ing periods  of  industrial  depression.  Still  more  fundamental 
is  the  principle  that  money  should  not  be  borrowed  unless  it 
can  be  profitably  employed.  In  the  case  of  money  borrowed 
for  the  acquisition  of  park  land  it  should  be  borne  in  mind 
that  the  land  is  an  asset  that  will  be  worth  more  in  almost 
every  instance,  by  the  time  the  loan  becomes  payable,  than  the 
amount  of  the  loan.  Moreover,  as  a  general  rule,  the  special 
increase  in  the  assessor's  valuations  of  adjoining  private  lands 
and  in  the  improvements  subsequently  erected  upon  them,  will 
yield  increased  taxes  sufficient  to  meet  the  interest  and  the 
annual  contributions  to  the  sinking  fund  of  the  park-land  loan. 
Of  course  there  should  be  limitations,  but  experience  indicates 
that  the  limits  for  park-land  loans  may  safely  be  set  very 
much  higher  than  for  other  municipal  loans.  Examination  of 
the  facts  by  experts  would  be  required,  doubtless,  to  fully 
satisfy  those  in  authority;  but  it  requires  very  little  knowl- 
edge of  municipal  finances  to  satisfy  one  of  the  general  rule 
that  parks  are  a  better  asset,  when  the  loan  by  which  they 
have  been  acquired  becomes  payable,  than  school  buildings, 
fire  engine  houses,  city  halls,  street  improvements  and  most 
other  things  for  which  cities  borrow  money,  and  all  of  which 
deteriorate  and  some  of  which  become  almost  valueless,  even 
if  they  are  not  destroyed  to  make  room  for  better  structures. 

There  is  a  way,  however,  by  which  park  improvements 
may  be  financed  without  having  recourse  to  bond  issues, 
and  this  is  the  scheme  of  benefit  assessments.  It  is  a  plan 
by  which  the  city  secures  a  portion  of  the  so-called  un- 
earned or  collectively  earned  increment  created  by  a  park, 
and  uses  this  to  pay  for  the  park  in  question.  It  accom- 
plishes much  the  same  result  as  excess  condemnation,  but 
in  a  simpler  manner,  and  without  the  necessity  for  a  large 
initial  investment  of  public  funds. 

It  has  been  proved  in  many  towns  and  cities  throughout 
the  United   States  that  the  creation  of  a   park  causes  an 


172  CITY  PLANNING 

increase  in  the  value  of  all  real  estate  in  the  vicinity,  an 
increase  often  considerably  in  excess  of  the  cost  of  the 
park  and  its  development.  By  the  assessment  system  a 
portion  of  the  values  so  created  are  surrendered  by  the 
property  owners  for  the  purchase  of  the  park  site  and  its 
improvement.  In  Denver,  Indianapolis,  and  especially  in 
Kansas  City,  Missouri,  expensive  park  developments  have 
been  made  possible  by  this  method. 

Kansas  City's  park  achievement  under  the  principle  of 
special  assessment  is  so  remarkable  that  some  account  of 
it  may  prove  of  interest.  In  the  early  nineties  certain  men 
in  Kansas  City  became  impressed  with  the  growth  of  the 
municipality  and  with  the  fact  that  the  city  had  failed  to 
make  an  adequate  provision  of  park  spaces  for  the  people. 
An  examination  of  the  public  property  revealed  the  fact 
that  the  city  owned  in  park  lands  less  than  one-tenth  of  an 
acre,  this  being  a  triangular  remnant  which  some  real 
estate  dealer  had  donated  to  the  municipality. 

As  a  result  of  this  investigation  and  awakening.  Mayor 
Holmes  appointed  in  March,  1892,  a  Park  Board  which  at 
once  went  to  work  to  study  local  conditions.  In  1893  they 
published  an  extensive  report  setting  forth  the  proposed 
improvements,  and  showing  how  they  would  be  likely  to 
affect  the  city's  welfare.  They  found  that  the  city  was  not 
only  lacking  in  park  lands,  but  also  in  power  to  borrow 
money,  as  the  limit  of  indebtedness  had  been  reached. 
Paradoxical  as  it  may  seem,  to  this  discouraging  state  of 
the  municipal  credit  is  really  due  the  possibility  of  Kansas 
City's  splendid  system  of  parks  and  boulevards,  which  has 
grown  from  nothing  to  2,500  acres  of  parks  and  fifty  miles 
of  carefully  improved  boulevards  and  parkways  virtually 
without  increasing  the  public  debt,  although  thirteen  mil- 
lion dollars  have  been  expended  in  the  work. 

The  explanation  is  to  be  found  in  the  scheme  of  special 
assessments  against  benefited  property,  which  was  devised 


PARK  SYSTEMS 


173 


174  CITY  PLANNING 

and  carried  out  as  the  logical  method  of  paying  for  all  park 
improvements.  Around  all  proposed  parks  or  boulevards, 
benefited  districts  were  established.  For  the  sake  of  con- 
venience the  city  was  divided  into  five  park  districts.  The 
broad  general  principle  applying,  that  those  receiving  the 
benefit  should  pay  the  cost,  opposition  to  any  particular 
improvement  was  not  aroused  in  localities  remote  from  the 
improvement. 

The  special  form  of  benefit  tax  used  for  the  building  of 
the  Kansas  City  system  resulted  in  the  sale  of  Park  Fund 
Certificates,  which  were  merely  a  collective  expression  of 
the  separate  assessments  against  the  lands  in  the  park 
districts,  the  city  treasurer  acting  as  trustee  for  their  collec- 
tion and  disbursement,  but  which  did  not  become  obliga- 
tions of  the  municipality  and  did  not  conflict  with  the 
limitation  on  the  city's  debt-making  power.  These  certifi- 
cates bore  interest  and  were  sold  the  same  as  bonds,  the 
interest  being  six  per  cent.  The  demand  for  them  proved  to 
be  greater  than  for  ordinary  municipal  bonds,  and  the 
method  devised  out  of  the  absence  of  city  funds  proved  in 
the  end  to  be  a  blessing. 

One  feature  of  the  Kansas  City  boulevard  work  deserves 
special  mention.  Like  nearly  all  western  cities,  most  of 
the  streets  were  platted  with  widths  of  from  50  to  60  feet. 
The  landscape  architect  emphatically  gave  it  as  his  opinion 
that  no  boulevard  should  be  of  less  width  than  100  feet 
with  the  added  provision  that,  where  car  lines  followed  the 
boulevard,  an  extra  width  should  be  provided.  The  ten- 
dency of  the  Park  Commission  since  that  time  has  been 
to  increase  the  minimum  width  to  no  feet.  To  pay  for 
the  ])roperty  taken,  a  jury  decided  upon  tlie  district  to  be 
benefited,  which  in  general  included  land  for  a  block  and 
a  half  on  either  side  of  the  intended  boulevard.  Then  the 
cost  of  improvement  of  the  boulevard  itself  was  charged 
against  the  abutting  real  estate,  land  values  only.     In  all 


PARK  SYSTEMS  175 

cases  the  broad  general  principle  was  applied  that  the 
property  benefited  should  pay  for  the  improvement. 

The  testimony  is  unanimous  that  the  abutting  property 
in  all  cases  receives  great  increase  in  value  from  these 
park  improvements.  As  an  illustration,  on  the  Benton 
Boulevard  the  average  gain  in  value  per  front  foot  above 
all  costs  of  construction  was  $26.50 ;  on  the  Linwood 
Boulevard,  $32 ;  Gladstone,  $41 ;  and  Harrison,  $52.30. 
This  shows  an  average  gain  in  value  of  325  per  cent  over 
the  value  of  abutting  real  estate  prior  to  the  establishment 
of  the  boulevards.  Thus  has  Kansas  City  secured  one  of 
the  most  splendid  and  adequate  park  systems  in  the  United 
States,  and,  instead  of  being  a  burden  in  taxation,  it  has 
been  without  cost  to  the  public  treasury  and  has  actually 
put  money  into  the  pockets  of  those  who  have  paid  the 
bills,  simply  because  the  resulting  benefits  in  all  cases  ex- 
ceeded the  cost.  The  method  here  illustrated  deserves  con- 
sideration and  adoption  by  other  American  cities.^ 

By  statute  or  constitutional  amendment,  a  number  of 
states  have  been  given  the  power  of  excess  condemnation, 
and  under  this  power  it  would  be  possible  to  acquire  not 
only  the  land  needed  for  parks,  parkways,  and  open  spaces, 
but  land  contiguous  thereto.  The  constitutional  amend- 
ment for  New  York  State,  adopted  in  November,  1913, 
is  as  follows : 

The  leg-islature  may  authorize  cities  to  take  more  land  and 
property  than  is  needed  for  actual  construction  in  the  laying 
out,  widening-,  extending,  or  re-locating  parks,  public  places, 
highways  or  streets ;  provided,  however,  that  the  addi-tional 
land  and  property  so  authorized  to  1)e  taken  shall  he  no  more 
than  sufficient  to  form  suitable  building  sites  al)utting  on  such 
park,  public  place,   highway  or  street.     .After  so  much  of  the 

^  See  George  E.  Kessler :  "Actual  DistriI)Uti()n  of  the  Cost  of 
Kansas  City  Parks  and  Boulevards,"  I'rocccdiiujs  of  the  l-iflh  .\'a- 
tiiiiitil  i'onfcroicc  on  City  Planning.  Chicago,  111.,   May  5-7,   1013. 


1/6  CITY  PLANNING 

land  and  property  has  been  appropriated  for  such  park,  public 
place,  highway  or  street  as  is  needed  therefor,  the  remainder 
may  be  sold  or  leased. 

While  this  power  has  existed  in  some  states  for  years, 
it  has  not  yet  been  used  except  in  minor  ways. 


Parks  and  City  Planning 

One  of  the  greatest  influences  now  operating  toward  a 
better  provision  for  parks  and  other  recreation  facilities  in 
this  country  is  city  planning.  The  movement  is  spreading 
rapidly  from  town  to  town  and  from  city  to  city.  Its  aims 
are  many,  but  primarily  it  is  an  attempt  to  forecast  and 
provide  for  the  requirements  of  a  city  as  a  whole,  and  to 
anticipate  by  a  reasonable  period  the  improvements  and 
developments  which  such  a  forecast  shows  to  be  desirable 
and  in  some  form  or  other  inevitable.  City  planning,  there- 
fore, is  an  efifort  to  save  waste — waste  due  to  thoughtless 
delay,  to  haphazard  procedure,  and  to  ill-considered  plans. 
When  city  planning  is  wise,  it  works  in  harmony  with 
local  conditions,  takes  account  of  topography,  and  re- 
sponds to  the  peculiar  commercial  and  economic  needs  of 
the  locality.  One  of  its  dominant  purposes  always,  how- 
ever, is  to  promote,  to  extend,  and  to  make  more  adequate 
and  more  perfect  the  provisions  for  public  recreation. 

To  make  parks  effective,  other  factors  of  the  city  plan 
must  be  considered.  The  public  works  of  a  city  are  de- 
pendent one  upon  another.  For  example,  it  is  nearly  al- 
ways desirable  to  reserve  for  park  purposes  the  banks  of 
the  brooks,  small  rivers,  and  other  non-navigable  streams 
of  a  city,  and  to  safeguard  these  channels  from  encroach- 
ment. This  should  not  be  done  primarily  because  they 
usually  afford  one  of  the  best  opportunities  for  parks  and 
parkways,  but  l)ecause  they  enable  the  community  to  j^ro- 


PARK  SYSTEMS  I77 

vide  adequate  channels  for  storm-water  drainage.  These 
are  necessary  for  safety.  Without  such  reservations,  ex- 
ceptional storms  are  almost  certain  to  cause  disastrous 
floods,  as  the  history  of  American  cities  illustrates.^  An- 
other example  of  interrelation  is  the  way  in  which  the  sur- 
roundings of  parks  influence  the  character  of  the  parks 
themselves.  Through  selfishness  or  ignorance,  the  values 
of  a  city's  investment  in  parks  may  be  considerably  re- 
duced. Ugly  poles  and  wires,  preventable  smoke,  bill- 
boards, and  other  nuisances  of  this  sort  destroy  the  very 
values  that  parks  are  supposed  to  create,  and  should  not, 
therefore,  be  permitted.  Even  the  character  of  private 
buildings  abutting  on  park  property — stores,  apartment 
houses,  saloons,  etc. — should  be  reasonably  regulated. 
More  important  still  are  the  facilities  for  reaching  parks. 
Many  cities  have  postponed  the  consideration  of  this  point 
until  proper  provision  was  impossible,  or,  if  not  impossible, 
very  expensive.  Philadelphia  is  now  constructing  a  park- 
way from  the  center  of  the  city  to  Fairmount  Park,  its 
largest  pleasure  ground,  at  a  cost  of  many  million  dollars. 

The  conclusions  that  this  chapter  aims  to  reach  are  that 
large  towns  and  cities  need  not  only  to  increase  the  number 
of  their  public  grounds,  but  also  to  increase  their  variety. 
Moreover,  these  park  properties  should  be  selected  with 
due  consideration  for  other  features  of  the  city  plan,  and 
with  regard  to  the  various  methods  of  payment  that  park 
benefits  justify.  More  than  an  increase  in  expenditure, 
there  must  be  a  widening  of  aims,  a  finer  discrimination, 
an  expansion  of  the  ideas  of  service,  and  a  more  accurate 
estimate  of  local  conditions  and  local  needs.  The  size, 
character,  and  location  of  sites  for  each  ]:)articular  pur- 
pose must  be  more  carefully  considered,  as  well  as  the 
nature  of  the  design,  and  its  faithful  maintenance.  Now 
is  the  time  to  turn  active  attention  to  these  matters,  for  it 

^  Sec  Chapter  XL 


178  CITY  PLANNING 

is  now  tliat  so  many  American  cities  are  moving  to  increase 
the  number  of  their  exercise  and  pleasure  grounds,  and  to 
secure  the  advantages  of  comprehensive  city  planning. 


Bihliography 

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232  pages. 

Baltimore.  Olmsted  Brothers.  Report  upon  the  Develop- 
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Chicago.  Report  of  the  Special  Park  Commission  to  the  City 
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Cr.wvford,  a.  W.  The  Development  of  Park  Systems  in 
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and  Day,  F.  M.     The  Existing  and  Proposed  Outer  Park 

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Geddes,  Patrick.  City  Development,  a  Study  of  Parks,  Gar- 
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CHAPTER   IX 

WATER   SUPPLY   AND    THE   CITY   PLAN 

This  chapter  will  treat  of  the  public  water  supply  as 
related  to  the  general  city  plan.  It  will  be  the  endeavor  to 
make  it  comprehensive,  including  the  general  subjects  of 
quantity  and  quality,  and  in  a  brief  manner  to  present  the 
principal  features  that  are  comprised  in  the  up-to-date 
water-works  system,  with  special  reference  to  their  bearing 
on  the  city  beautiful  as  well  as  utilitarian.  Present  day 
thought  is  rapidly  assimilating  the  principle  that  utility  and 
esthetics  may  well  be  combined,  and  that  roughness  of 
outline  and  carelessness  in  architectural  proportion  are  not 
necessary  adjuncts  either  of  strength  or  of  service.  In 
other  words,  visible  public  works  are  incompletely  con- 
structed if  there  has  been  no  endeavor  to  make  them  at- 
tractive as  well  as  operative,  and  underground  construction 
fails  to  meet  the  conception  of  the  modern  city  plan  unless 
careful  thought  has  been  taken  to  serve  the  convenience  of 
the  citizen  as  well  as  his  necessities.  Pleasing  features  in 
building  and  landscape  are  perfectly  possible  of  attainment 
at  reasonable  cost.  The  constant  tearing  up  of  well-jiavcd 
streets  is  a  relic  of  a  less  civilized  age,  and  ugly  unkempt 
reservoir  surroundings  bespeak  ignorance  of  up-to-date 
water  works  planning. 

Objects  of  Water  Supply 

Tlic  beginnings  of  a  watcr-sujiply  system  arc  found  in 
tlie  necessities   and  comfort  of  a   community.      Protection 

i8i 


i82  CITY  PLANNING 

against  fire  is  often  the  primary  cause,  or  it  may  be  that 
the  needs  of  the  present  are  what  were  the  luxuries  of  a 
not  (Hstant  past.  Whichever  it  is,  the  demands  for  ever- 
increasing  quantities  of  water  must  be  recognized  and  met. 
The  only  proper  and  equitable  method  of  selling  and  con- 
serving water  is  by  means  of  meters  in  connection  with 
constant  and  efficient  waste  inspection  of  both  interior 
plumbing  and  exterior  piping  systems.  The  amount  of  wa- 
ter unaccounted  for  is  often  from  25  per  cent,  to  50  per 
cent,  and  more  of  the  total  supplied,  while  with  proper 
inspection  it  is  often  possible  to  reduce  considerably  even 
the  lesser  amount. 

The  legitimate  demands  for  water  are  undoubtedly  in- 
creasing. In  1895  j\lr.  Dexter  Brackett  reported  that  100 
gallons  per  capita  was  a  proper  basis  for  estimate  of  the 
amount  of  water  to  be  provided  for  the  Boston  Metropoli- 
tan District.  Although  this  district  is  now  within  the  esti- 
mate, nevertheless  it  seems  desirable,  in  making  new  in- 
stallations, and  in  view  of  the  greatly  increased  demands 
for  all  classes  of  service,  to  use  150  gallons  per  capita  as  a 
basis  for  computation.  Domestic  needs  are  rapidly  in- 
creasing with  larger  and  more  modern  plumbing  installa- 
tions. INlanufacturers  are  more  and  more  dependent  on 
the  city  water  to  carry  on  important  portions  of  their  work. 
Fire  departments  and  insurance  companies  are  demanding 
that  larger  amounts  be  available  and  that  they  be  imder 
greater  pressure.  Public  uses  in  buildings,  street  watering, 
and  drinking  and  ornamental  fountains  cannot  be  curtailed 
if  the  best  interests  of  the  city  are  to  be  met. 


Sources  of  Water  Supply 

The  original  source  of  all  water  su])ply  is  in  the  rainfall. 
The  terrestrial  sti])i)ly  may   l)e  drawn   from  the  surface — 


WATER  SUPPLY  AND  THE  CITY  PLAN  183 

.lakes,  rivers  and  impounding  reservoirs — or  from  under- 
ground sources,  comprising  springs,  wells  of  various  kinds, 
and  horizontal  galleries.  The  character  of  the  water  de- 
pends largely  on  general  conditions  of  topography,  geology, 
and  climate.  The  quality  is  mostly  affected  hy  local  en- 
vironment, and  quickly  reflects  both  natural  and  artificial 
conditions.  Modern  convenience  requires  running  water  at 
the  tap  under  some  pressure.  In  order  to  accomplish  this, 
either  the  water  must  flow  by  gravity  from  some  elevated 
source,  be  raised  by  pumping,  or,  perhaps,  be  supplied  by 
a  combination  of  these  two  methods.  The  two  funda- 
mental conditions  of  water  supply  are  quantity  and  quality. 
With  adequate  quantity  the  problem  of  supply  can  be 
solved.  Many  cities  have  abundant  supplies  at  the  very 
thresholds  of  their  doors,  but  are  prevented  from  using 
them  freely  on  account  of  the  quality  of  the  water.  Up- 
land surface  waters  from  sparsely  settled  drainage  areas 
in  many  parts  of  the  country  naturally  furnish  supplies  of 
superior  quality.  When  such  supplies  are  unavailable,  it 
is  necessary  to  resort  to  artificial  treatment,  such  as  sedi- 
mentation, filtration,  aeration,  sterilization,  and  miscellane- 
ous treatments  in  order  to  furnish  water  fit  for  potable 
purposes  and  at  the  same  time  without  features  disagree- 
able to  sight,  taste,  or  scent.  To  maintain  a  proper  supply, 
storage  facilities  comprising  more  or  less  extensive  reser- 
voirs are  required  to  meet  fluctuations  due  to  the  varying 
rates  of  consumption,  and  to  provide  for  the  periods  of 
greater  or  less  length  during  which  the  source  of  supply 
may  be  inadequate. 

Distribution   System 

To  conduct  the  water  to  localities  where  it  is  required, 
it  is  necessary  to  provide  ])ij)c  systems — supply  mains  con- 
necting the   reservoirs  witli   llic  community,  a  distribution 


i84  CITY  PLANNING 

system  for  portioning  out,  and  a  service  pipe  system  to  care 
for  individual  needs.  This  whole  plan  may  be  likened 
somewhat  to  a  tree — its  roots  the  collecting  reservoir,  in- 
cluding the  inflowing  streams  or  the  pumping  installation ; 
the  trunk  the  principal  supply  main ;  the  branches  the  dis- 
tribution system ;  the  leaf  stems  the  service  pipes ;  and  the 
leaves  themselves  the  places  of  consumption.  The  analogy 
fails,  however,  in  that  a  water-works  distribution  system 
is  ordinarily  cross-connected  in  many  diverse  ways.  The 
uses  for  which  water  is  required  determine  to  a  large  ex- 
tent the  character  of  the  system.  Usually  one  set  of  water 
pipes  is  sufficient,  but  conditions  often  arise  to  meet  which 
dual  systems  are  necessary.  On  account  of  inadequate 
supply,  lack  of  proper  pressure,  or  the  expense  of  purified 
water,  many  cities  are  installing  a  separate  system  for  fire 
protection  purposes,  and  such  a  plan  may  easily  adapt  itself 
to  providing  a  supply  for  commercial  and  manufacturing 
uses.  A  serious  drawback  to  such  an  extension,  however, 
is  the  danger  from  infectious  diseases,  due  to  illegal  con- 
nections and  the  surreptitious  use  of  polluted  water  by 
employees. 

Water  supply  is  utilitarian  to  the  utmost,  but,  from  the 
times  of  the  old  Roman  aqueducts  to  the  last  word  in 
present-day  architecture,  it  is  impressed  upon  us  that  ser- 
vice and  beauty  can  be  combined  without  sacrifice  of  either 
and  without  undue  expense. 

In  order  to  state  briefly,  but  in  an  orderly  manner,  some 
of  the  things  that  may  be  done  to  improve  water  works  for 
the  benefit  of  the  city  plan,  a  beginning  will  be  made  at 
the  house,  the  leaf  of  the  tree,  and  thence  we  will  proceed 
downward  to  the  storage  reservoir,  the  root  of  the  entire 
system. 

Water  departments  should  have  some  supervision  over 
plumbing  in  houses,  and  the  water  should  not  be  turned 
on  until  the  company's   inspector  has  certified   to  proper 


WATER  SUPPLY  AND  THE  CITY  PLAN         185 

installation.  Such  regulations  would  prevent  much  need- 
less waste  of  water  due  to  inferior  and  improper  fixtures. 
Whenever  hot  water  boilers  are  installed,  there  should  be 
some  auxiliary  tank  service,  either  air  pressure  or  gravity, 
to  provide  against  danger  in  case  of  the  shutdown  of  the 
water  service.  As  an  additional  preventive  of  waste,  a 
return  system  may  be  installed  for  the  hot  water  plumbing, 
and  self-closing  fixtures  should  generally  be  required. 

For  service  pipes  connecting  the  house  system  with  the 
street  mains  various  materials  are  used.  Careful  thought 
should  be  given  to  the  size  and  to  the  materials  used  in 
these  connections  so  that  they  may  be  reasonably  perma- 
nent, that  the  all  too  common  practice  of  constantly  ripping 
up  pavements  for  repairs  and  reinstallations  may  be  avoided 
as  much  as  possible.  The  present  practice  in  many  cities 
of  continually  tinkering  with  service  pipes  is  wasteful  of 
money,  destructive  of  pavements,  and  a  nuisance  and  eye- 
sore to  the  public.  Galvanized  iron  is  a  common  and  inex- 
pensive material.  Much  present-day  pipe  of  this  character 
is,  however,  short-lived,  either  on  account  of  accumulation 
of  rust  or  because  of  the  destruction  of  the  pipe  itself. 
This  condition  is  very  often  due  to  imperfections  in  the 
galvanizing  coating  on  both  inside  and  outside  of  the  pipe. 
Lead  and  lead-lined  pipes  are  very  satisfactory  if  there  are 
no  substances  in  the  water  which  wmII  act  on  the  lead  and 
cause  poisoning.  Both  iron  and  lead  pipes  are  readily  at- 
tacked by  stray  electric  currents  and,  if  so  exposed,  rapidly 
deteriorate.  A  very  satisfactory  and  permanent  service  is 
found  in  the  cement-lined  pipe,  if  properly  made  and  laid, 
and  this  pipe  also  has  the  advantage  of  low  first  cost,  lirass 
I)ipes  are  excellent  as  far  as  permanency  is  concerned.  l)ut 
are  rather  too  expensive  for  general  use.  In  many  locali- 
ties, especially  those  where  the  ground  is  clay,  loam,  sand, 
or  other  material  with  few  large  boulders,  it  is  usually  pos- 
sil)le  to  install  service  ])ij)cs  with  a  mininnun  of  Ironch  ex- 


i86  CITY  PLANNING 

cavation  by  using  a  machine  for  pushing  the  pipe  through 
the  ground  for  quite  long  distances,  and  in  the  case  of  re- 
newals or  plugging,  it  is  often  less  expensive  to  abandon 
the  old  pipe  altogether  and  install  a  new  one. 

In  all  cases  of  extension  of  mains  into  new  territory, 
it  is  well  worth  while  to  study  local  conditions  to  see  if 
some  plan  cannot  be  worked  out  whereby  service  connec- 
tions may  be  installed  to  the  street  line  at  the  time  the 
water  main  is  laid,  whether  or  not  there  are  houses  to  be 
served.  The  pipes  could  be  shut  off  at  the  main  by  means 
of  the  corporation  cock  now  in  almost  universal  use,  and 
no  leakage  would  then  occur  from  the  dead  pipes  if  they 
were  properly  laid.  To  save  digging  up  the  street  to  get 
at  the  corporation  cock,  a  service  box  can  be  placed  over 
the  cock  with  the  cover  at  or  just  below  the  street  surface.^ 

To  an  even  greater  extent  than  with  service  pipes,  pro- 
vision should  be  made  to  obviate  the  present  all  too  fre- 
quent opening  up  of  streets  to  repair  or  relay  distribution 
mains.  Pipes  in  the  distribution  system  are  ordinarily  made 
of  cast  iron,  and  this  is  practically  an  indestructible  ma- 
terial. If  the  system  is  properly  planned,  there  should  be 
no  need,  for  many  years,  of  replacing  such  pipe,  provided 
the  joints  are  properly  made  and  care  is  taken  in  the  laying 
of  the  pipe  itself.  The  present  method  of  laying  pipes  and 
then  digging  cross  trenches  the  entire  width  of  the  street 
for  laying  service  pipes  is,  to  say  the  least,  not  conducive 
to  smooth  pavements  for  general  traffic.  It  seems  possible 
that  in  the  up-to-date  city-planning  scheme  such  conditions 
can  be  avoided.  For  example,  a  city  street  plan  very  well 
thought  of  has  main  arteries  radiating  from  a  common 
center  like  the  spokes  of  a  wheel.  Joining  these  spokes 
are  broad  avenues  concentric  to  each  other,  and  intersecting 

^  Alternative  of  laying  main  under  sidewalk  with  subsidiary  main 
at  each  block  under  opposite  sidewalk.  lias  marked  advantages 
where  streets  are   fairly  wide  and  lots  narrow. 


WATER  SUPPLY  AND  THE  CITY  PLAN  187 

these  are  numerous  streets.  In  the  main  arteries  are  re- 
served areas  either  grassed  or  for  horseback  riding.  In 
these  can  be  placed  the  large  supply  mains,  and  when  these 
are  so  located  there  is  very  little  need  of  again  opening  up 
the  trench.  To  care  for  the  consumers  there  could  be 
mains  of  comparatively  small  size  on  each  side  of  the  street. 
Perhaps  it  would  be  found  advantageous  to  lay  these  mains 
under  the  sidewalks  instead  of  in  the  roadway.  There  are 
many  advantages  that  appear  to  accrue  from  such  a  plan — 
shorter  service  pipes ;  no  necessity  of  opening  up  an  im- 
proved roadway  often  paved  with  heavy  concrete,  and  a 
duplicate  set  of  mains  for  use  in  case  of  ordinary  fires 
without  passing  hose  lines  across  car  tracks.  For  use  in 
conflagrations,  connections  with  the  large  mains  would  be 
provided.  These  smaller  side  mains  would  be  connected 
to  the  radial  mains  at  each  intersection,  and  large  mains 
for  fire  purposes  would  also  be  run  in  the  concentric 
avenues.  In  short,  the  well-kn6wn  gridiron  system  of  pip- 
ing would  be  carried  out  with  the  intention  of  providing 
two  mains  instead  of  one  in  the  broad  cross  streets. 

In  the  colder  parts  of  the  country  the  freezing  of  hy- 
drants is  a  cause  of  annoyance  and  worry.  All  hydrants 
should  be  well  drained  to  some  permanent  sewer  or  to 
some  other  place  which  will  accommodate  the  water,  other- 
wise considerable  digging  is  necessary  under  very  trying 
conditions.  In  brief,  for  both  service  pipes  and  distribution 
mains  some  system  should  be  devised  to  obviate  the  con- 
tinual excavation  and  rcexcavation  of  city  streets  to  the 
annoyance  of  the  public  and  the  destruction  of  the  roadbed. 


Reservoirs 

Elevated  storage  tanks  are  a  necessary  adjunct,  and  these 
can  be  made  very  attractive   features  of  the  landscape  if 


i88  CITY  PLANNING 

some  attention  is  given  to  architectural  design.  The  ma- 
sonry tower  encasing  the  300 ,ooo-ga lion  steel  tank  of  the 
Metropolitan  Water  Works  at  Quincy,  Mass.,  is  an  ex- 
cellent example  of  such  construction.  The  accompanying 
illustration  shows  a  view  of  this  tower  in  the  background, 
overlooking  the  5,000,000-gallon  reservoir  kept  in  reserve 
for  emergency,  the  standpipe  taking  care  of  ordinary  fluc- 
tuations in  draft.  This  tower  cost  about  $25,000,  excluding 
the  cost  of  the  inner  steel  tank  and  its  foundation.  It  is 
built  of  uncoursed  quarry-faced  Quincy  granite  with  rough 
or  fine  pointed  trimmings  and  six-cut  work  at  windows. 
From  the  surface  of  the  ground  to  the  cap  of  the  merlons 
this  tower  is  75  feet  high.  Between  the  inner  surface  of  the 
stone  work  and  the  steel  tank  there  is  a  space  3  feet  and  3 
inches  wide  in  which  is  constructed  a  circular  iron  stairway 
to  an  observation  platform  at  the  top  of  the  tower. 

]\Iuch  of  the  foregoing  portion  of  this  chapter  has  dealt 
with  water-works  construction  from  the  viewpoint  of  pre- 
venting annoyance  to  the  public  and  providing  for  the 
efiiciency  of  the  water-supply  system  of  the  well-planned 
city.  ]\lost  effective  work  for  the  pleasure  and  recrea- 
tion of  the  citizens  can  be  done  about  the  storage  and  im- 
pounding reservoirs.  If  this  work  is  based  on  plans  care- 
fully thought  out  and  executed,  not  only  can  a  most  at- 
tractive j)arkway  be  added  to  the  assets  of  the  city,  but  the 
cost  of  the  care  and  upkeep  can  in  a  great  measure  be 
provided  from  the  resources  of  the  reservation  itself. 
Under  proper  precautions,  which  may  not  in  any  way  be 
irksome  nor  impede  any  reasonable  liberty  of  visitors,  the 
public  can  be  freely  admitted  to  water  supply  reservations. 
W^'itcr  drawn  from  large  impounding  reservoirs  with  many 
weeks'  or  months'  storage  capacity  is  practically  free  from 
the  risks  of  infection  from  pathogenic  germs.  Such  germs 
do  not  propagate  in  stored  water  but  lose  their  virulence 
and   become   destroyed   within    a   short   time,   a   condition 


Reskrvotr  axd  Masoxry  Water  Tower,  Forbes  Hill,  Quixcy,  Mass. 


'I'liK    C'kak;    (nun    Dam,    1'".i,a.\    I'Jivkr,    Walks 

New  Works  for  the  Water  Supply  of   BirniinRhani.   I-".nplaii(l.     Xote  the 
Inviting   Roads,    BuiU  Chiefly    for   the   Pleasure   of   tlie   Public 


WATER  SUPPLY  AND  THE  CITY  PLAN  189 

radically  different  from  that  which  obtains  with  water  from 
a  running  stream  taken  directly  for  supply.  The  most  ad- 
vanced thought  in  public  water-supply  work  is  that  all 
water  used  for  potable  purposes  should  be  filtered.  With- 
out this  precaution,  however,  and  with  only  the  safeguard 
of  storage  and  sedimentation,  many  of  the  most  important 
water-supply  gathering  grounds  of  the  world  are  open  to 
public  use.  Among  these  may  be  mentioned  the  r)Oston 
Metropolitan  Water  Works,  the  Croton  Works  of  the  city 
of  New  York,  and  Loch  Katrine,  the  source  of  Glasgow's 
water  supply. 

In  the  case  of  an  impounding  reservoir  the  first  requisite 
is  usually  the  dam  to  close  the  valley  outlet  and  permit  of 
the  storage  of  the  drainage  water  from  above.  Wiicther 
this  dam  be  of  earth  or  masonry,  there  are  methods  of 
treatment  that  will  either  make  it  blend  imperceptibly  into 
the  natural  topography  or  else  provide  a  structure  whose 
very  dissimilarity  and  bold  features  produce  a  work  of 
architectural  beauty  well  set  in  natural  surroundings.  An 
excellent  example  of  such  a  structure  is  found  in  the  Craig- 
Goch  Dam  on  the  Elan  River,  Whales. 

Probal)ly  one  of  the  best  examples  of  simulation  of  na- 
ture's handiwork  is  the  hill  ridge  built  across  the  Chagres 
River  at  Panama  and  called  the  Gatun  Dam.  So  like  the 
neighboring  hills  is  this  great  structure  with  its  one  and 
one-half  mile  length  and  half-mile  width  that  visitors 
tramping  its  sides  and  top  inquire  when  they  will  see  the 
dam.  Another  example,  perhaps  more  easily  followed,  is 
seen  in  the  north  and  south  dikes  at  the  W^achusett  Reser- 
voir of  the  I'oston  ATetropoHlan  District.  Here  large 
.'unounts  (^f  material  stripj)ed  from  the  bottom  and  sides 
of  tlic  rescr\()ir  were  to  be  dis])osed  of,  .and  double  use 
was  made  of  the  necessity.  The  basin  was  thorougldy 
cleaned  and  the  material,  instead  of  being  expensively 
dumped  outside  the  area,  was  economically  and  attracti\ely 


1 90  CITY  PLANNING 

placed  in  a  broad  "plaza,"  serving  the  two- fold  purpose  of 
dam  and  spoil  bank. 

In  the  case  of  earth  dams  the  downstream  sloi)es  should 
be  made  as  flat  as  financial  conditions  will  permit.  Here 
there  is  opportunity  for  economical  engineering  construc- 
tion combined  with  landscape  effect.  More  often  than  not, 
and  especially  in  low  dams,  it  is  possible  to  use  a  large 
amount  of  loamy  materials  obtained  cheaply  from  nearby 
stripping.  With  a  broad,  thick  dam  constructed  therefrom, 
a  much  cheaper  and  no  less  safe  structure  in  many  cases 
may  be  obtained  than  if  the  dam  were  built  along  time-hon- 
ored lines  with  core  wall  and  comparatively  steep  slopes. 

Slopes  steeper  than  one  foot  vertical  to  one  and  three- 
cjuarters  horizontal  are  not  practical  for  horse  mowing. 
Comparatively  wide  bcrms,  not  over  30  feet  apart,  in  verti- 
cal elevation,  add  to  attractiveness  and  prevent  the  slopes 
from  washing  under  heavy  rains.  Gate  houses  and  intake 
towers  should  be  given  an  architectural  treatment  suited 
to  the  surroundings.  (See  illustration.)  Overflow  channels 
are  not  less  effective,  and  are  much  safer  in  regard  to  sta- 
bility of  embankments  if  the  waters  are  made  to  fall 
over  rocky  ledges  and  through  boulder-strewn  channels. 
Straightway  courses  are  desirable  to  take  oft"  the  flood 
waters  quickly,  but  by  giving  thought  and  study  to  details 
it  is  usually  possible  to  accomplish  a  similar  result  along  the 
curved  and  winding  line  of  beauty.  Often  it  hai)pens  that 
the  head  available  from  the  reservoir  is  not  necessary  for 
water-supply  purposes.  Under  some  conditions  this  po- 
tential power  may  be  developed  into  electricity  and  a  source 
of  revenue  is  thus  oljtained.  Such  use  need  in  no  way 
interfere  with  landscape  architecture  if  only  proper  plans 
are  drawn.  In  any  event  fountains  may  be  maintained, 
serving  the  two-fold  purpose  of  ])lcasing  the  eye  and  ini- 
l)roving  the  water  by  aeration. 

Marginal  roads  may  well  be  laid  out  al>out  the  reservoirs, 


WATER  SUPPLY  AN'O  TIIF.  CITY  PLAN  191 

thus  giving-  the  piil)hc  pleasant  travehng  facihties  and  at 
the  same  time  allowing  them  freely  to  inspect  the  source  of 
their  water  su])i)ly.  It  is  well,  however,  to  keep  such  roads 
several  hundred  feet  hack  from  the  reservoir  margins  and 
generally  to  i)lant  the  intervening  space  with  low,  thickly 
growing  shruhs.  Evergreen  varieties  are  to  he  preferred, 
hoth  on  account  of  the  landscape  effect  and  to  avoid  the 
annoyance  of  falling  leaves.  Such  treatment  allows  of 
enjoyment  of  the  scenic  features  and  prevents  dust  from 
gathering  too  thickly  into  the  reservoirs.  Judicious  oiling 
of  roads  accomplishes  this  end,  also,  in  a  very  satisfactory 
manner,  and  if  care  is  taken,  no  ohjectionablc  tastes  or 
odors  will  appear  in  the  water  drawn  in  the  city. 

Excellent  examples  of  combination  of  water-supply 
grounds  and  recreation  areas  attractively  laid  out  are  found 
within  the  r)Oston  (Massachusetts)  metropolitan  district. 
,\s  typifying  natural  development.  Spot  Pond  may  be  taken 
as  an  example.  The  reservoir  has  an  area  of  about  275 
acres  and  lies  almost  in  the  center  of  the  Metropolitan 
Park  System  on  the  north  side  of  Boston.  This  area  is 
easily  reached  by  the  steam  trains  or  by  several  lines  of 
electric  cars  wdiich  pass  through  it.  The  reservoir  was 
originally  a  natural  pond  used  by  three  nearby  towns  as  a 
water  supply.  To  form  a  storage  basin  in  the  northern 
part  of  the  water  district,  its  bottom  was  either  entirely 
stripped  of  loam  and  peaty  deposits  or,  if  these  proved  too 
deep  to  be  economically  excavated,  they  were  covered  with 
clean  gravel  to  a  depth  of  twelve  to  eighteen  inches.  The 
level  of  the  original  pond  was  raised  and  consideral)le 
swampy  flowage  cut  out,  either  by  filling  or  by  drainage 
diversion.  The  shores  were  stripped  of  all  trees,  brush,  and 
objectionable  matter  to  a  point  well  al)ove  wave  action  and 
tlicn  riprapped  with  heavy  stones  froiu  the  bottom  excava- 
tion. A  comprehensive  study  of  the  entire  area  w^as  made 
under  the  direction  of  com])etent  landscrqx'  architects,  who 


192  CITY  PLANNING 

most  satisfactorily  blended  landscape  effect  and  water- 
works requirement.  In  the  cutting  and  thinning  above 
wave  reach,  especial  care  was  taken  to  save  large  and 
prominent  trees.  Surplus  material  from  the  bottom  ex- 
cavation was  so  disposed  of  as  to  blend  perfectly  with  nat- 
ural topography,  and  such  areas  planted  in  quickly  growing 
shrubs  and  trees  in  order  to  destroy  so  far  as  possible  any 
appearance  of  the  artificial.  An  island  was  constructed 
in  the  center  of  the  pond,  and  with  its  rocky  shores  and 
heavy  growth  of  evergreen  trees  is  a  prominent  and  pleas- 
ing feature.  At  well-chosen  points  clean  gravel  and  sand 
beaches  of  very  gradual  slope  were  constructed.  As  one 
travels  along  the  well-kept  roads,  now  approaching  the 
water's  edge  and  now  swinging  further  inland,  suddenly 
out  through  a  heavy  growth  of  hemlocks  and  pines  a  sunlit 
beach  flashes  into  sight,  perhaps  flanked  on  one  side  with 
water-worn  or  moss-grown  boulders  and  on  the  other  by  a 
tangle  of  bushes  kept  just  carefully  enough  not  to  show 
artificial  care.  This  area  is  only  five  and  one  half  miles 
from  Boston,  and  thousands  of  people  frequent  the  roads 
and  woods  on  every  pleasant  summer  day.  The  water 
from  the  reservoir  is  used  for  domestic  supply  without  fil- 
tration, and  the  only  protection  found  necessary  is  the 
supervision  of  the  park  police  and  signboards  set  in  con- 
spicuous places  calling  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  waters 
are  used  for  domestic  purposes  and  must  not  be  defiled. 
Bathing,  boating  and  fishing  are  strictly  prohibited,  but  no 
restraint  is  put  on  other  reasonable  forms  of  recreation. 

Distinctly  opposite  to  this  method  of  park  treatment  is 
the  treatment  of  the  reservoirs  and  grounds  at  Chestnut 
Hill,  which  are  also  about  five  miles  from  Boston  and  easily 
reached  by  electric  cars.  Here  all  is  artificial,  and  the  land- 
scape gardener's  art  is  shown  to  perfection.  Smooth,  well- 
built  macadam  roads  wind  along  the  margin  of  the  reser- 
voirs,   following    the    perfect    curves    of    the    shore    line. 


Dark   Hoi. 


POXD 


Si  ki:i;\    CiiAMin.K,    \\'i:s'ro\    Ri;si;kvoik 


WATER  SUPPLY  AND  THE  CITY  PLAN         193 

Shrubs  and  trees  of  many  varieties  have  been  effectively 
placed,  and  are  kept  in  perfect  shape.  The  margin  of  the 
roadway  toward  the  water  is  well  turfed  and  kept  as  well 
trimmed  as  a  golfing  green.  The  shores  themselves  are 
paved  with  flat  stones  well  laid  and  carefully  kept  free  from 
grass  and  weeds.  Looking  eastward  over  the  reservoirs  the 
tops  of  the  pumping  stations  appear.  These,  too,  show  the 
same  intelligent  treatment  that  characterizes  this  entire 
system  and  has  made  it  an  object  of  study  and  imitation 
for  many  other  water-works  systems. 

In  the  planning  of  the  reservoir  proper,  care  must  be 
exercised  to  design  so  that  the  conditions  of  the  tributary 
watershed  may  be  met.  On  the  one  hand,  storage  much 
in  excess  of  the  ordinary  run-off,  together  with  a  consid- 
erable draft,  results  in  long  periods  of  bare  shore  and  an 
accumulation  of  vegetation  which  will  cause  trouble  later 
when  the  water  rises.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the  reservoir 
is  too  small  to  meet  demands,  it  will  be  subject  to  extreme 
fluctuations  between  high  and  low  water  and  areas  of 
swamp  or  flat  land  will  be  uncovered  which  will  encourage 
growths  that  may  make  the  reservoir  offensive.  Large 
storage  reservoirs  have  great  advantages  in  the  opportuni- 
ties they  provide,  both  from  a  sanitary  standpoint  in  re- 
ducing bacteria,  and  from  an  esthetic  standpoint  in  bleach- 
ing out  colors.  It  is,  however,  proper  to  consider  carefully 
the  expense  of  construction  for  excess  storage  purposes. 

For  the  improvement  of  the  supply,  swampy  areas  on  the 
watershed  should  be  drained,  and  certain  swamp  growths 
such  as  cedar,  black  alder,  and  similar  trees  may  be  ad- 
vantageously cut  out. 

\\'ith  the  temperature  of  the  water  at  a1)out  70°,  objec- 
tionable growths  of  blue-green  algng  are  almost  sure  to 
a])pear  and  cause  very  objectionable  conditions  of  odor, 
taste,  and  appearance,  due  to  the  decomposition  and  disin- 
tegration of  these  microorganisms.    The  temperature  of  the 


194  CITY  PLANNING 

water  appears  to  have  a  controlling  influence  with  reference 
to  these  growths.  To  avoid  such  conditions  of  temperature 
as  much  as  possihle,  shallow  flowage  and  landlocked  pools  of 
little  depth  should  be  avoided.  Considerable  expense  may 
be  undertaken  for  this  purpose,  wdiich  in  the  end  may  result 
in  greatly  decreased  cost  of  filter  maintenance. 

For  the  protection  of  the  supply  from  the  drainage  of 
thickly  populated  districts,  the  stream  may  be  disinfected 
with  chlorine  gas  or  a  similar  sterilizing  agent  and,  under 
some  conditions,  filter  beds  may  be  advantageously  con- 
structed. 

In  the  treatment  of  shores  and  bottoms  of  reservoirs, 
there  has  been  considerable  discussion  as  to  whether  oi;  not 
it  is  advisable  to  strip  or  to  cover  all  organic  matter  in 
order  to  remove  the  food  supply  and  so  eliminate  the 
trouble  from  organic  growths.  In  the  case  of  the  Wa- 
chusett  Reservoir  and  other  Boston  basins,  the  entire 
flooded  area  has  been  stripped,  and  the  results  have  been 
very  satisfactory,  although  expensive  in  first  cost.  The 
objectors  to  this  plan  claim  that  the  benefits  are  not  lasting, 
and  that  a  more  economical  procedure  is  not  prevention 
but  cure  of  the  infected  waters  by  filtration.  In  the  cases 
of  the  Ashokan  and  Kensico  Reservoirs  of  the  New  York 
Water  Supply,  just  constructed,  the  conclusion  of  the  spe- 
cialists called  on  this  matter  was  that,  wdiile  in  the  early 
years  stripping  of  the  sides  and  bottom  had  a  tendency  to 
guard  against  objectionable  tastes  and  odors  due  to  organ- 
isms, ultimately  it  made  little  difiference.  Due  to  their 
recommendations,  the  sides  and  bottoms  of  these  reservoirs 
were  not  stripped.  The  entire  question  seems  to  be  one  for 
settlement  in  accord  with  local  conditions  and  requirements. 

In  order  to  improve  the  appearance  of  reservoir  shores 
and  to  avoid  unsightly  matter  floating  in  the  water,  it  is, 
under  any  condition  of  treatment,  best  to  remove  all  trees, 
brush,  fences,  and  other  light  objects  from  the  entire  area 


WATER  SUPPLY  AXD  TME  CITY  PLAN  195 

to  be  flooded.  Around  the  shore  and  within  the  limits  of 
fluctuation  of  the  reservoir,  and  for  from  three  to  five  feet 
above  this  point,  all  stumps  should  be  removed,  and  all 
large  roots  and  other  vegetable  matter  cleared  up  and 
burned.  Subsequent  wave  action  will  erode  the  soil  on 
the  slopes  and  result  in  creating  sandy  and  gravelly  shores 
similar  to  those  found  on  natural  ponds. 


Forestry 

In  the  case  of  water-collecting  areas  a  treatment  may  be 
given,  not  less  in  keeping  with  conditions  to  be  desired  but 
utilitarian  in  its  results,  and  thus  attractive  to  water-de- 
partment managers.  The  matter  of  forestry  and  the  wood 
lot  may  now  be  considered,  and,  with  proper  supervision, 
this  feature  of  corporation  enterprise  may  result  in  very 
welcome  profits. 

Forests  about  water-supply  basins  are  not  only  a  source 
of  pleasure  for  visitors,  but  their  presence  instinctively 
gives  a  feeling  of  confidence  and  security  to  those  who  use 
the  water.  Who  does  not  unconsciously  prefer  the  water 
of  a  lake  hidden  away  in  the  hills  and  surrounded  by  ever- 
green trees  to  that  drawn  from  a  river  draining  a  thickly 
settled  community?  Although  it  may  be  known  that  in 
the  latter  instance  the  water  is  absolutely  sterile  and  devoid 
of  harmful  germs,  due  to  filtration  and  sterilization,  still 
the  woodsy  water  is  preferred,  even  at  the  risk  of  a  typhoid 
carrier  on  the  watershed.  Sentiment  and  psychology  have 
great  influence  over  all  animals,  the  human  not  the  least. 
Not  only  must  the  water  supply  be  free  from  all  pollution, 
but  it  must  be  above  suspicion^  and  susi)icion  is  easily  in- 
fluenced by  appearance. 

Public  water-supply  areas  are  cs])ccially  a(la])tablc  to 
forestry  undertaking.      Fnlikc   lands  in   ])ri\ate  owncrshi]), 


196  CITY  PLANNING 

no  limit  is  placed  on  the  time  of  production,  nor  is  im- 
mediate income  return  a  prime  factor.  The  first  requisite 
is  the  protection  and  improvement  of  the  gathering  basins, 
and  the  fact  that  there  is  a  sure  return  is  a  powerful  lever 
to  move  an  otherwise  often  unappreciative  political  com- 
mission. The  automobile  and  the  more  humble  trolley  car 
have  annihilated  space,  and  shaded  walks  and  wooded 
drives  once  a  day's  journey  away  and  seldom  visited  are 
now  within  easy  reach  and  eagerly  availed  of  by  the  tax- 
paying  public.  But  these  forested  areas  are  more  than 
parks  and  pleasure  grounds ;  they  are  recognized  income 
producers,  and  many  water  works,  both  publicly  and  pri- 
vately managed,  have  taken  this  matter  up  in  earnest.  The 
State  Forester  of  ^Massachusetts  has  completed  a  working 
plan  for  the  city  of  Fall  River  for  a  municipal  fore:=t  of 
three  thousand  acres.  In  his  report  on  this  matter,  he 
indicates  a  net  return  on  the  investment  of  seven  and  one 
half  per  cent.  The  city  of  Hartford,  Conn.,  has  nearly  four 
thousand  acres  under  scientific  planting  in  worn-out  farms 
and  denuded  forest  areas.  The  New  Haven  (Conn.)  W^a- 
ter  Co.,  a  privately  owned  corporation,  has  entered  upon 
this  work  to  an  even  greater  extent.  The  Massachusetts 
Metropolitan  Water  Board  has  extensive  plantations  and 
forestry  preserves  about  its  Wachusett  Reservoir.  In  the 
West,  the  city  of  Seattle  is  planning  works  of  similar  char- 
acter on  a  very  large  scale.  These  are  only  a  few  of  the 
water  departments  that  have  recognized  the  value  and 
desirability  of  forestry  work.  In  the  Old  World  many 
towns  and  cities  have  tbeir  own  municipal  forests  from 
which  yearly  a  very  handsome  profit  accrues.  Municipal 
water  commissions  are  very  fortunately  situated  in  this 
respect,  as  they  have  no  taxes  to  pay,  the  ownership  is 
everlasting,  the  element  of  time  exists  only  in  a  slight 
degree,  and  the  land,  purchased  for  the  protection  of  the 
water  sup]:»ly,  has  no  cost  to  charge  off  against  the  forest. 


WATER  SUPPLY  AND  THE  CITY  PLAN         197 

In  otlier  words,  every  dollar  received  from  the  forest 
products  is  clear  gain. 

In  the  past  ten  years  the  Metropolitan  Water  Board  of 
Massachusetts  has  planted  1,500,000  white  pine  and  spruce 
seedlings  on  1,313  acres  of  land  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
Wachusett  Reservoir,  at  an  average  cost  of  $20  per  acre, 
and  in  addition  has  spent  $6  per  acre  per  year  for  improve- 
ment cutting.  It  is  stated  by  foresters  that  average  land 
planted  to  pine  will  yield  46,500  feet  per  acre  in  50  years, 
worth  on  the  stump  at  present  prices  $465,  with  a  cost  for 
planting,  care,  and  maintenance,  during  this  period,  of  $170. 

Arbor  vita:  trees,  on  account  of  their  dense  growth,  arc 
excellent  for  ])lanting  along  reservoir  shores  to  keep  leaves 
and  other  objectionable  material  from  being  blown  into  the 
water  by  the  wind.  They  may  be  spaced  3  feet  apart  in 
narrow  rows  about  25  feet  back  from  the  shore  line,  and 
when  properly  placed  for  landscape  effect  form  a  very 
attractive  feature.  It  is  well  that  these  trees  reach  consid- 
erable size  before  transplanting,  otherwise  they  are  very 
liable  to  die.  The  cutting  of  trees  and  brush  which  inter- 
fere with  the  growth  of  young  pines  costs  from  $6  to  $7 
per  acre.  Improvement  thinnings  in  20-  to  30-year-old  pines 
and  chestnuts  cost  about  $25  to  $30  per  acre.  From  this 
source  salable  wood  may  be  obtained,  but  usually  not  of 
sufficient  value  wholly  to  pay  for  the  work.  The  cost  of 
removing  trees  from  the  nursery  and  j)lanting  them  aver- 
ages from  $5  to  $5.50  per  1,000  trees,  or  $5.75  to  $6.50  per 
acre.  On  watersheds  where  the  planting  will  not  average 
more  than  25  or  30  acres  per  year  it  is  seldom  profitable 
to  undertake  special  nursery  work.  Young  trees  can  be 
purchased  very  reasonably  from  the  regular  nurseries,  and 
are  usually  better  grown.  Among  the  trees  best  ada])te(l 
for  use  in  reservoir  forestry  work  in  the  East  arc  the  ])ines 
— white,  red,  and  Scotch — arbor  vita\  sjiruce — wliite,  Nor- 
way, and  Douglas — birch,  hemlock,  larch,  and  tamarack  for 


198  CITY  PLANNING 

the  softer  woods.  For  tlie  deciduous  trees  there  are 
maples,  wahiut,  oak,  ash,  and  locust.  Spruce  and  pine 
usually  make  the  most  satisfactory  plantings.  Red  pine  is 
especially  good  in  that  it  is  not  attacked  by  the  i)ine  tree 
weevil,  and  its  matured  wood  is  about  as  valuable  as  white 
pine.  As  soon  as  meadows  are  abandoned  for  the  produc- 
tion of  hay,  they  should  be  planted,  all  hedge  rows  and 
standing  trees  being  first  removed.  Three-year-old  trans- 
plants set  at  6-foot  intervals  are  suitable  for  this.  These 
I)lants  may  be  set  with  a  mattock  or  else  in  plowed  fur- 
rows. The  cost,  exclusive  of  the  stock,  will  average  from 
$4  to  $5.50  per  1,000  trees,  or  say  about  $6  per  acre.  The 
stock  itself  should  not  cost  over  $5  or  $6  per  1,000. 

In  the  case  of  plantations,  all  failed  spaces  of  one  year 
should  be  filled  in  during  the  next  season.  All  overwood 
of  any  kind  that  interferes  with  development  should  be  cut 
and  removed.  This  is  especially  necessary  with  old  apple 
trees  and  other  short-boled,  broad-crowned  trees  that  may 
have  been  left  standing. 

In  forestry  work  pure  and  simple,  without  regard  to  park 
efifect,  it  is  unnecessary  and  undesirable  to  clear  out  under- 
brush and  fallen  trees  in  older  stands.  In  areas  where  the 
chestnut  blight  has  appeared  the  only  remedy  is  to  cut. 
When  chestnut  exceeds  60  per  cent.,  the  entire  tract  should 
be  cleared  of  all  trees  and  replanted.  When  the  propor- 
tion is  less  than  60  per  cent.,  the  chestnut  trees  should  be 
cut  out  and  the  remainder  left  to  form  the  future  forest. 
If  the  timber  left  will  not  form  a  suitable  stand,  it  may  be 
underplanted  with  pine  or  spruce. 

It  is  impracticable  in  forestry,  as  in  other  things  worth 
while,  to  expect  something  for  nothing,  and  in  order  to  get 
results  work  must  be  done  and  attention  given,  althougli 
high-priced  specialists  are  not  required  except  at  rare  inter- 
vals for  consultation.  Tree  pests  and  forest  fires  must  1)C 
guarded  against  and  eliminated  if  a  foothold  is  to  be  gained. 


WATER  SUPPLY  AND  THE  CEfY  PLAN         199 

Spraying,  manual  destruction,  and  tree  cutting  are  the  most 
efficient  methods  appHcable  in  the  former  case.  Fire  lines, 
efficient  patrol,  and  ready  access  to  simple  tools  are  the 
most  operative  in  the  latter. 

"Do  your  work  with  what  materials  you  have  at  hand," 
said  a  most  capable  park  superintendent,  and  his  parks  are 
among  the  most  celebrated  in  the  country.  It  is  neither 
necessary  nor  desirable  to  import  either  labor  or  materials. 
L^se  for  this  work  the  laborers  who  are  engaged  in  pipe- 
laying  during  the  summer.  They  probably  are  not  the  most 
skilled  in  this  particular  class  of  work,  and  the  cost  of  their 
product  will  not  compare  with  that  of  skilled  choppers. 
On  the  other  hand,  remember  that  the  forest  has  cost  little 
or  nothing  to  develop,  and  that  by  its  means  a  force  skilled 
and  trained  in  the  real  business  of  the  water  department 
is  being  held  together.  As  for  materials,  make  bridges  and 
culverts  either  of  field  stone  with  rustic  effect,  or  of  rough- 
hewn  timber  which  the  nearby  forest  will  furnish.  A  few 
large  boulders,  moss-grown  and  weatherworn,  advanta- 
geously placed  are  most  attractive  features.  Vistas  prop- 
erly cut  from  vantage  points  on  hill  roads  are  a  most  pleas- 
ing relief  after  a  long  drive  through  the  woods.  Well 
placed  clumps  of  evergreen  trees  on  bold  headlands  jutting 
out  into  the  lake  are  a  source  of  great  pleasure. 

Finally  it  must  be  borne  constantly  in  mind  that  a  water 
supply  for  human  consumption  is  being  cared  for,  and  on 
its  purity  and  freedom  from  pollution  rests  the  safety  of 
the  whole  city.  Nevertheless,  it  is  also  to  be  remembered 
that  strength,  utility,  and  beauty  reach  their  highest  de- 
velopment only  in  combination. 


20O  CITY  PLANNING 


Bibliography 

American  Water  Works  Association.     Proceedings. 

Freeman,  J.  R.     San  Francisco  Water  Supply,  1912. 

Goldsmith,  Clarence.  Requirements  of  Water  Works  Sys- 
tems for  Fire  Protection.  New  England  Water  Works 
Journal,  xxvi,  no.  4,  1912. 

Goodrich,  L.  W.  Forestry.  New  England  Water  Works 
Journal,  xxiv,  no.  3,  1910. 

Metropolitan  Water  and  Sewerage  Board,  Boston,  Mass.  An- 
nual Reports. 

New  York  Board  of  Water  Supply.    Annual  Reports. 

Rane,  F.  W.  Reforestration  of  Watersheds.  New  England 
Water  Works  Journal,  xxv,  no.  2,  191 1. 

Sedgwick,  W.  T.  Double  Municipal  Water  Supplies.  Journal 
New  England  Water  Works  Association,  xxv,  no.  4,  191 1. 

Turneaure^  F.  E.,  and  H.  L.  Russell.  Public  Water  Sup- 
plies.     New  York,  1913.    808  pp. 

Annual  Reports.     Additional  Water  Supply.     New  York  City. 

Proceedings.    American  Water  Works  Association. 

Special  Reports  on  Water  Supply.  New  York  City ;  Washing- 
ton, D.  C. ;  Baltimore,  Md. 

Files  of  Engineering  News,  Engineering  Reeord,  Municipal 
Engineering,  Municipal  Journal,  Engineering  and  Contract- 
ing. 


CHAPTER    X 
NON-NAVIGABLE   WATERS 

The  succeeding  chapter  will  show  that  the  development 
of  the  navigable  waters  of  a  thriving  city  is  generally 
brought  about  directly  by  the  demands  of  shipping  and 
trade.  These  demands  are  usually  as  obvious  and  tangible 
as  the  monetary  prizes  which  are  sought  by  commerce  and 
business,  and,  under  these  stimuli,  the  development  of 
waterways,  docks  and  dock  connections  naturally  keeps 
pace  in  an  automatic  way  with  the  enterprises  and  resources 
of  a  city. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  development  of  the  non-navigable 
waters  of  a  city  is  generally  forced  upon  the  community 
indirectly  by  the  reactions  of  destruction  and  neglect.  The 
gradual  melting  away  of  natural  beauty,  the  insidious  creep- 
ing in  of  ugliness  and  squalor,  and  a  high  death  rate  along 
shore,  force  cities  to  grapple  with  the  problems  of  non- 
navigable  waters  as  real  issues — issues  as  important  as 
ships,  commerce,  and  industrial  wealth.  Cities  have  rarely 
discovered  these  automatic  reactions  until  business  pros- 
perity has  been  established.  The  rude  awakenings  of  ugli- 
ness, deformity,  disease,  crime,  and  death  then  give  justifi- 
cation enough  for  the  construction  of  waterside  embank- 
ments, walls,  roads,  recreation  grounds,  boulevards,  parks, 
and  other  related  improvements  which  might  otherwise 
be  regarded  as  mere  luxuries  dependent  upon  esthetic  whim 
for  their  existence  and  for  their  design.  In  a  thriving 
city,   therefore,   the  improvement  of   non-navigable   waters 


202  CITY  PLANNING 

must  be  made  to  keep  pace  with  growth  and  with  enlighten- 
ment. 

The  Camp  versus  the  City 

The  earth  and  the  primitive  man  are  ready-made  for 
each  other.  To  the  needs  of  the  family,  the  camp,  or  vil- 
lage, land  and  water  lend  themselves — not  in  small  measure 
or  grudgingly,  but  with  largeness  and  welcome.  Nature  is 
kind  to  small  colonies  of  men  provided  they  make  little 
change  in  their  surroundings,  but  when  devastation  or 
pollution  assumes  proportions  large  enough  to  upset  a  nice 
balance.  Nature  retaliates  by  killing  men  wholesale  with 
parasites  which  multiply  through  men's  careless  ways  of 
living.  Nature  has  other  punishments  in  store — floods, 
droughts,  erosion,  deposition  of  silt,  changing  heights  of 
ground  water — which  she  visits  upon  colonies  of  men  when 
they  tamper  with  rainfall,  with  stream  channels,  with  forest 
cover,  and  with  other  great  elementals.  She  is  ready  to 
relent  when  men  learn  their  dynamic  lessons.  In  the  end, 
she  becomes  kind  and  docile  even  with  that  most  terrible 
aggregate — the  city  of  millions — when  men  adapt  their 
ways  to  hers.  These  enormous  congregations  of  men  are 
terrible,  first  because  they  make  sweeping  changes  in  the 
face  of  the  earth,  and  second,  because  they  possess  tre- 
mendous potential  powers  of  self-destruction.  In  temper- 
ate climates  and  upon  a  convex  topography  of  gentle  slope 
and  with  light  soil,  cities  may  grow  with  least  risk  and 
consequently  with  least  cost ;  but  in  sultry  airs,  upon  con- 
cave ground  of  heavy  soil,  cities  grow  with  constant  men- 
ace to  themselves  and  at  great  cost  for  self-preservation. 
A  high-ground  water  level  is  menacing  and  therefore  ex- 
pensive. Sad  to  say,  small  lakes,  ponds,  little  rivers,  brooks, 
shallows,  flats,  and  beaches  are  a  menace  and  a  source  of 
great  ex]:)ensc  to  cities.     .So  great,  however,  is  the   scenic 


NON-NAVIGABLE  WAT]<:KS  203 

and  recreative  value  of  such  "non-navigable  waters"  that 
a  city  is  poor  which  does  not  possess  them,  and  a  city 
which  does  not  safeguard  them  and  fit  them  for  use  is  not 
modern  in  the  best  sense. 

All  inland  waters,  tidal  creeks,  flats  and  the  seashore 
were  clean  and  fine  to  behold  before  men  congregated  upon 
them.  Myriads  of  fishes,  molluscs,  water-loving  animals, 
and  plants  throve  in  them  and  upon  their  margins  without 
hurting  the  water  or  its  shores.  Man  was  the  defiler 
and  the  destroyer.  His  encampments,  villages,  and  cities 
clouded  or  blackened  the  water,  burdened  the  shores  with 
trampled  mud,  rubbish,  and  filth,  and  killed  the  animals  and 
plants.  Waters  and  shores  w^hich  were  sought  at  first  by 
strong  or  wealthy  men  for  their  freshness,  beauty,  and 
resources,  were  at  last  shunned  by  all  but  the  poorest  or 
weakest  of  men  who  were  obliged  to  put  up  with  filth,  ugli- 
ness, sterility,  and  the  disease  and  death  that  went  along 
wMth  them. 

The  problem  which  confronts  us  in  cities  is  to  prevent 
men  from  polluting  the  pure  rain  water  and  pure  sea  water 
as  they  meet  it  in  the  hollows  and  grooves  of  the  land,  and 
to  prevent  them  from  treading  and  tearing  to  pieces  the 
soft  edges  of  strands  and  banks,  and  from  clogging  and 
defiling  shores,  shallows,  and  marshes. 


Soft   Earth   Shores   and  Marshes 

In  nature,  soft  shores  of  peat  and  fine  earth  resist  the 
wave  and  current  action  of  water  by  virtue  of  the  vegetable 
fibers  of  grasses,  sedges,  and  roots  which  bind  particle  to 
particle.  Erosion  takes  away  no  faster  than  deposition 
re])laces.  I'x'l-grasses  and  otlier  bottom  vegetation  in  some 
measure  ])revent  tlie  drift  and  erosion  of  soft  stream  ])e(ls 
and  shallows.     The  pollution  of  water  by  cities,  however, 


204  CITY  PLANNING 

upsets  this  natural  balance  by  weakening  or  killing  the  vege- 
tation, and  permitting  fine  particles  to  wash  away  in  the 
current  or  to  slide  down  into  the  stream  bottom.  Wear  and 
tear  of  the  feet  of  men  and  domestic  animals  upon  soft 
earth  shores  and  shallows  hastens  the  erosion  by  breaking 
the  bond  of  vegetable  fibers.  The  elimination  of  poisons 
of  all  kinds  from  waters  which  wash  vegetation-bound 
shores  is  essential  to  their  stability.  So  difficult,  however, 
is  the  prevention  of  pollution,  and  so  sensitive  are  soft 
shores  to  erosion,  that  most  cities  blanket  them  with  bulk- 
heads, ripraps,  or  walls. 

An  attempt  was  made  a  few  years  ago  to  create  and  to 
maintain  a  tidal  marsh  on  the  especially  prepared  and  care- 
fully leveled  soft  earth  of  the  Back  Bay  Fens,  one  of  the 
Boston  parks.  For  a  time  the  shores  and  the  marsh  sod 
resisted  the  waves  and  weather  successfully,  but  the  poisons 
of  sewage,  a  change  from  salt  to  fresh  water,  and  a  slight 
change  in  the  height  of  the  water,  killed  large  areas  of 
grasses  and  produced  mud  patches  and  exposed  sliding, 
glistening,  eroded  muddy  banks.  Grasses  and  other  vege- 
tation which  have  been  established  for  many  years  at  a 
certain  height  of  ground  water  are  very  sensitive  to  per- 
manent changes  of  water  level.  They  will  endure  occasional 
severe  floods  and  brief  droughts,  but  a  change  of  level 
covering  a  period  of  years  is  usually  fatal  and  brings  in 
a  new  tyi)e  of  vegetation  adapted  to  the  new  water-level 
condition.  While  one  type  is  dying  and  a  new  one  is  com- 
ing in  many  years  may  elapse  with  unsightly  appearances. 
The  sensitiveness  of  plants  to  changes  in  the  salinity  of 
water  is  also  marked  if  the  change  covers  long  periods. 
Many  grasses  which  thrive  in  brackish  water  will  die  in 
fresh  water  or  in  salt  water.  Witli  proper  care,  this  experi- 
ment would  have  succeeded,  but  the  project  was  abandoned, 
and  the  marshes  have  been  filled  bigli  enough  to  ])ear  upland 
grass  and  to  serve  as  firm,  dry  groun<l  for  athletic  fields. 


NON-NAVIGABLE  WATERS  205 

Since  tidal  marshes  are  built  by  floating  particles  depos- 
ited at  extreme  high  tide,  they  become  automatic  catchers 
of  floating  refuse.  Unless  properly  drained  by  ditching, 
the  pools  of  the  marsh  become  breeding  places  for  mos- 
(juitoes.  In  general,  the  city  and  the  marsh  cannot  be  recon- 
ciled to  one  another  except  in  parks.  There  is  no  denying 
the  i^eauty  and  impressiveness  of  great  marshes,  yet,  as  a 
whole,  cities  have  found  them  hostile  to  comfort,  health,  and 
economic  use  without  reclamation  by  filling  or  diking.  But 
to  abandon  and  caseharden  the  soft  edges  of  all  waters 
to  make  them  man-proof  would  be  an  act  of  vandalism. 
A  city  which  does  not  possess  liberal  reaches  of  soft  shore 
with  its  characteristic  vegetation  of  rushes,  grasses,  shrub- 
bery, and  trees  is  poor  indeed. 


Rock  Shores 

Rock-bound  shores  will  endure  the  polluted  w-atcr  of 
cities,  but  the  rockweeds  and  animal  life  of  the  shore  van- 
ish with  the  taint  of  poisonous  waters  and  sewage.  Arti- 
ficial shore  treatments  of  large  stones  and  boulders  (grouted 
with  gravel)  arc  often  applied  to  soft  earth  shores  wiiich 
have  been  robbed  of  their  natural  vegetal)le  l)onding  of 
grass,  thatch,  and  roots,  to  enable  them  to  endure  the  wear 
and  tear  of  waves,  weather,  and  feet,  and  yet  at  the  same 
time  give  chance  for  vegetation  in  the  stone  crannies.  Ar- 
tificial shores  of  stone,  unless  foundationcd,  arc  liable  to 
settle  into  the  soft  matrix.  Rugged  rock  shores  are  auto- 
matic rul)bish  catchers.  Smootli,  hard-looking.  ]iaved  shores 
or  concrete  shores  will  endure  all  plagues,  but  in  naturalistic 
surroiuidings  they  are  apt  to  l)e  offensively  discordant  in 
appearance,  in  canals,  regular  channels,  basins,  or  other 
artificial  fornird  constructions,  tlie  use  of  such  materials 
is  ap|)ropriatc  and  often  necessary. 


2o6  CITY  PLANNING 

Shores  can  be  protected  in  large  measure  from  the  land- 
ward side  against  petty  injury  by  the  construction  of  border 
roads.  These  roads  ensure  proper  policing  and  at  the  same 
time  afford  frontages  for  houses  facing  upon  the  water 
rather  than  backing  upon  it.  A  species  of  "neutral  ground" 
is  created  in  this  way  which  is  of  inestimable  value  to 
waterside  parks  and  to  private  property  adjoining  them. 
These  principles  are  well  illustrated  by  conditions  at  a  penin- 
sula in  one  of  the  mill  ponds  belonging  to  the  Draper  Manu- 
facturing Company  at  Hopedale,  Mass.  The  construction 
of  the  marginal  road  automatically  prevented  the  erection  of 
outbuildings,  shacks,  and  the  formation  of  ash  dumps  on 
the  edges  of  the  river,  and  made  possible  the  construction 
of  a  pleasing  group  of  workmen's  homes.  Marginal  roads 
of  this  kind,  whether  in  modest  surroundings,  as  in  the 
example  just  mentioned,  or  in  great  works  like  the  embank- 
ments of  the  Seine  or  the  Arno,  are  first  essentials ;  they 
give  access  both  to  the  hinterland  and  the  river  border  in 
a  way  to  assist  the  development  of  each,  and  in  a  way  to 
]:)ermit  the  public  to  enjoy  shores  without  trespass  upon  ad- 
joining private  land. 


Beaches  of  Shingle,  Pebble,  and  Sand 

Great  beaches  are  of  inestimable  recreative  value  to  the 
city.  With  proper  care,  their  natural  slopes  and  materials 
need  not  be  changed  to  adapt  them  to  use  by  hosts  of 
pleasure  seekers.  These  shores  must  be  as  carefully  pro- 
tected from  breaches,  spit  building,  and  other  major  def- 
ormation as  from  flotsam  and  jetsam.  ?klany  a  beach  has 
been  lost  by  the  construction  of  piers,  jetties,  breakwaters, 
and  sea  walls,  which  have  modified  the  direction  or  the 
materials  of  alongshore  drift.  The  removal  of  cobbles 
from   a   sand   beach   often    leads   to   extensive    inroads    of 


NON-NAVIGAP.LE  WATKRS  207 

water  and  radical  changes  of  curve  and  slope.  So  sensitive 
is  the  heach  to  topographical  changes  along  shore  that  the 
greatest  pains  must  be  taken  to  forecast  the  result  of  such 
changes  before  they  are  made. 

But  the  greatest  changes  and  injuries  which  threaten 
the  beaches  near  great  cities  are  wrought  on  shore  above 
the  water  line  by  the  lovers  of  the  shore.  Tents,  shelters, 
shanties,  booths,  cottages,  pavilions,  and  hotels  crowd  the 
water  front  and  reach  out  upon  the  water  itself.  Paths  and 
roads  wind  about  as  best  they  may  on  the  shoreward  side 
of  these  structures.  At  last  the  shore  is  completely  usurped, 
and  the  beach  may  be  seen  only  from  the  windows  or  ve- 
randas of  the  more  fortunately  situated  dwellings,  and  may 
be  visited  only  by  sufferance  of  trespass  by  those  who  crowd 
its  water  line.  Finally,  the  public,  in  desperation,  flings  back 
these  man-made  barriers,  makes  them  toe  a  restriction  line, 
builds  adequate  roads  and  paths,  and  finally  restores  the 
beach  to  the  man  on  foot  and  provides  him  with  bathing 
facilities  and  police  protection.  Revere  Beach  at  Boston 
has  already  lived  through  all  the  stages  of  this  history,  and 
Coney  Island,  New  York,  is  now  living  through  such  a  tran- 
sition. The  crowded,  dangerous,  and  unsightly  condition  of 
Revere  Beach  in  1895  led  to  its  acquisition  by  the  state. 
The  beach  railroad  was  moved  several  hundred  feet  land- 
ward and  on  its  site  was  constructed  a  boulevard  open  to 
the  sea.  Hundreds  of  houses  were  torn  down  to  accom- 
plish this  improvement.  New  houses,  hotels,  and  restau- 
rants have  sprung  up  in  orderly  array  on  the  landward 
side  of  the  boulevard,  and  a  handsome  and  commodious 
state  bathhouse,  connected  with  the  beach  by  means  of  a 
subway  under  the  street,  has  been  built. 

Further  north  on  this  Atlantic  shore,  at  Lynn,  the  nat- 
ural sea  beach  is  backed  by  a  sea  wall  to  give  support  to  a 
driveway  and  promenade  upon  a  coastal  beach  wliich  was 
nalurally   liit^li   and   abrupt.      1  louses   had   encToached    upon 


2o8  CITY  PLANNING 

this  beach  to  such  a  degree  that  space  for  a  thoroughfare 
could  only  be  secured  by  terracing  and  walls.  The  under- 
mining of  these  walls  by  the  sea  is  now  in  progress  owing 
to  tide  movements  and  drift  which  were  aggravated  by  the 
walls.  Students  of  sea  wall  construction  should  study  the 
history  of  the  great  wall  destroyed  by  spray,  waves,  and 
currents,  at  the  Lake  Shore  Drive,  Chicago. 


Sewage  Elimination 

Sewage  should  be  kept  out  of  sluggish  or  standing  waters, 
evanescent  streams,  and  tidal  shallows.  If  it  cannot  be  kept 
out,  then  these  waters  must  be  made  to  run  rapidly  (if  the 
volume  is  large)  by  constricting  the  cross  section  of  the 
channel,  by  providing  a  channel  with  smooth,  clean  sides 
and  bottom  (see  illustration),  by  gradient  improvements,  or 
by  tapping  new  streams  to  flush  old  channels.  Evanescent 
and  diminutive  streams,  if  they  are  to  carry  sewage,  must 
be  kept  under  cover  in  pipes  or  conduits.  Tidal  shallows 
and  standing  water  bearing  sewage  must  be  freed  of  sewage 
or  else  reclaimed.  At  the  Charles  River  Basin  (illustration 
facing  page  214),  a  marginal  intercepting  sewer  was  pro- 
vided to  receive  the  numerous  private  drains  and  street 
sewers  which  formerly  had  their  outfall  into  the  river,  and 
at  low  tide  upon  the  flats.  Sewage-bearing  streams  which 
are  subject  to  flood  are  especially  menacing. 


Floods 

Abnormal  tidal  floods,  augmented  by  wind  and  rain,  must 
be  met  by  dikes  or  dams  planned  (as  at  Galveston)  to  pre- 
vent inundation,  or  the  low  ground  subject  to  flow  must 
be  raised  abo\c  flood  level   (low  ground  of  most  seal)oar(l 


NON-NAVIGABLK  WATKRS  2og 

cities).  River  floods  should  be  stopped  by  preventing  too 
rapid  a  run-off  of  rain  or  melting  snow,  by  the  provision 
of  flood  storage  basins,  by  deep,  ample  channels  of  well- 
modnlated  gradient,^  or,  if  possible,  by  shunting  off  a  por- 
tion of  the  watershed. 

In  planning  a  city  it  is  of  the  utmost  importance  to  cal- 
culate systematically  the  size  of  channels  required  to  carry 
off  the  maximum  expectable  storm-water  floods,  especially 
in  brooks  and  small  rivers,  and  to  safeguard  these  channels 
from  encroachments.  The  watershed  area  of  each  stream 
must  be  measured  on  accurate  maps  or  on  the  ground,  the 
records  of  precipitation  over  a  long  term  of  years  must  be 
studied,  and  the  capacity  of  the  stream  valleys  to  carry  their 
heaviest  floods  must  be  calculated  upon  flat  as  well  as  upon 
steep  gradients.  With  these  data  in  hand,  the  designer  is  in 
a  position  to  safeguard  the  city  against  flood  damage,  first, 
by  arranging  roads  and  building  sites  out  of  harm's  way 
on  natural  contours  above  the  natural  flood  line  or  on  fills 
above  the  flood  line  natural  or  artificial ;  second,  by  pre- 
venting unexpected  and  undesirable  ponding  of  flood  water 
by  bridge  abutments,  culvert  abutments,  road  embankments, 
buildings,  and  other  structures  acting  as  local  dams ;  and, 
third,  by  arranging  dikes,  open  channels,  or  conduits  to  pro- 
tect low  land  naturally  subject  to  floods.  l\'iilure  to  study 
the  local  history  of  streams  and  to  arrange  tiie  city  to  cope 
with  expectable  floods,  especially  those  occurring  periodically 
after  the  lapse  of  many  years,  has  resulted  in  enormous 
property  damage  and  loss  of  life.  Cherry  Creek  at  Denver, 
Stony  Brook  at  Boston,  and  Bear  Grass  Creek  at  Louis- 
ville are  familiar  examples  of  this  kind.  The  potential 
dangers  of  these  streams  could  be  guessed  by  very  little 
study,  but  their  docility  at  years  of  usual  rainfall  was  so 
convincing  to  the  average  mind  that  the  cities  grew  up 
about  them.  Roads,  culverts,  streets,  and  houses  sprang 
^  Sec  Engineers'  Report  on  Flood  Channels  for  Louisville,  Ky. 


210  CITY  PLANNING 

up  in  zones  which  were  full  of  danger  and  rendered  them 
still  more  hazardous  by  constricting  the  throats  of  the 
valleys.  Even  after  disastrous  floods  had  occurred,  the 
cities  were  loath  to  believe  that  the  inundations  were 
liable  to  occur  again,  that  they  could  be  prevented,  or 
that  the  cost  of  prevention  could  be  afforded  by  the  tax 
payers.  Careful  planning  has  now  given  these  cities 
surety  of  safety,  but  the  cost  of  these  improvements, 
though  great,  has  been  much  less  than  the  flood  damages 
sustained  for  want  of  foresight  in  the  original  plans  for  the 
cities. 

For  want  of  foresight  in  the  planning  of  Erie,  Pennsyl- 
vania, that  city  suffered  heavy  loss  of  life  and  property 
damage  from  a  flood  two  decades  ago.  Although  the  in- 
undation was  predictable  and  a  recurrence  of  the  disaster 
was  sure  to  take  place,  the  city  allowed  twenty  years  to 
pass  without  taking  adequate  steps  to  safeguard  itself.  The 
relation  of  Erie  to  the  topography  of  its  site  and  of  its 
environs  was  such  that,  with  a  sufficiently  heavy  downpour 
of  rain,  the  city  could  not  fail  to  be  automatically  flooded. 
In  August  of  this  year  (1915)  the  mechanical  couple  has 
been  completed  again  by  an  unexpected  but  predictable 
deluge  of  rain,  and  Erie  has  become,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
the  victim  of  another  disaster.  A  lethargy  in  cities  which 
permits  them  to  become  a  prey  to  periodic  disasters  of  this 
kind  is  slowly  thrown  off;  centuries  were  needed  for  Flor- 
ence, Paris,  and  Rome  to  awaken  to  the  tasks  of  replanning 
themselves  to  withstand  their  river  floods.  In  modern  times, 
however,  no  thriving  community  can  long  tolerate  delay  in 
applying  well-known  principles  of  flood  control  to  city 
planning. 

Wholesale  deforestation  is  sometimes  followed  by  river 
floods,  abnormal  erosion,  abnormal  deposits  of  silt  and 
scour,  followed  by  abnormal  low  water.  If  river  floods  can- 
not be  stopped,  a  city  subject  to  them  must  be  built  to  en- 


NOX-NAVIGABLE  WATERS  211 

dure  them.     Streets,  sewers,  foundations,  walls  and  floors 
should  be  arranged  to  withstand  inundation.^ 


Normal  Tides 

Natural  tides  of  the  ocean  which  vary  from  a  few  inches 
or  a  few  feet  to  many  feet  are  as  old  as  the  world  itself, 
consequently  the  shores  they  wash  are  perfectly  adapted  to 
them  ;  erosion,  shore-slipping  and  inundation  of  upland,  have 
long  ago  ceased.  Such  tides  are  predictable  and  they  can 
be  met  in  a  scientific  way.  Cities  which  attempt  to  creep 
out  upon  tide  shallows  must  build  dikes,  or  they  must  fill. 
The  temptations  to  gain  territory  from  the  ocean  in  this 
way  are  so  great,  and  the  rewards  are  so  satisfactory,  that 
large  areas  of  many  cities  upon  a  low  seaboard  are  of  this 
origin.  The  accompanying  plan  of  the  city  of  Boston  shows 
the  ancient  and  the  present  water  lines,  and  indicates  the 
enormous  territory  taken  from  the  marshes  and  shallow  tide 
water  which  embraced  the  ancient  peninsula.  Frequently 
dams  are  needed  at  the  mouths  of  rivers  to  prevent  their 
stream  beds  from  exposure  at  low  water,  and  to  prevent  the 
erosion  of  artificial  banks  and  light  ripraps. 

The  Charles  River  Basin  includes  a  tidal  area  measuring 
about  two  miles  long  and  averaging  one  half  mile  wide. 
It  lies  in  the  heart  of  the  Metropolitan  District  of  Boston, 
a  community  having  over  one  million  inhabitants.  Before 
improvement,  the  natural  flats  of  the  Basin,  burdened  with 
the  flotsam  and  jetsam  of  the  city,  and  of  the  upper  towns 
of  the  Charles  River,  were  exposed  to  view  at  each  low 
tide.  Sea  walls  protected  the  soft  shores  from  erosion,  and 
at  the  same  time  prevented  floating  rubl)ish  from  stranding. 
Wholesale   reclamations  of   the   shores   had   been   made   in 

^  S'l'c  V.  S.  Government  Reports  on  the  Mississippi  and  other  river 
valley    improvements. 


212 


CITY  PLANNING 


the  extensive  filling  of  the  Back  Bay,  but  the  government 
engineers  were  not  willing  to  allow  the  Basin  to  be  reclaimed 
as  a  whole  for  fear  that  a  reduction  of  the  volume  of  tidal 


Map  of  Boston  Proper 

SHADED  AREA  5HOW3  ORiaNAL  EXTENT  OF  LAND 
BEFORE  RECLAIMAnON  OrTIDALTXATS 


flow  would  reduce  the  drag  and  scour  in  the  harbor  and 
tend  to  fix  deposits  of  silt,  thereby  impeding  navigation. 

After  years  of  discussion,  during  which  the  use  of  the 
Charles    by    siiijis    and    barges    declined,    permission    from 


NON-KAVIGABLE  WATERS 


213 


Washington  to  erect  a  dam  to  keep  the  Basin  at  a  uniform 
level  was  secured.  Strangely  enough,  strong  protests  were 
then  made  against  this  improvement  by  the  residents  of  the 
Back  Bay,  who  feared  a  change  from  salt  to  fresh  water, 
and  a  change  of  ground-water  level.  Careful  reports  upon 
the  proposed  changes  were  made  by  special  commissions, 
and  at  last  public  sentiment  carried  the  work  of  improving 
the  Basin  to  completion.  The  result  has  been  satisfactory 
in  all  respects.  Boston  now  possesses  one  of  the  finest 
"water  parks"  in  the  country.     Partly  to  accommodate  a 


\/4ii'.//',r,/ ^.     //^//////.//,  //^//',    '/'/,       //^///l^a^ '/////^. 


CHARLES  RIVER  BASIN  ~  BOSTON 

TyPICAL  3ECT10NS~50UTM  BANK. 
BEFORE  AND  AFTER  IMPROVEMENT 


capacious  marginal  conduit,  and  in  part  to  secure  a  prom- 
enade, the  southerly  side  of  the  Basin  was  embanked  by  fill- 
ing as  shown  in  the  illustrations.  All  sewers  and  drains 
which  formerly  emptied  into  the  Basin,  were  intercepted  by 
a  conduit,  which  prevents  the  contamination  of  the  still 
water.  Without  sewage  elimination  of  this  kind,  a  great 
public  nuisance  would  have  been  created  by  ponding  the 
waters  of  the  Charles.  The  cost  of  the  work  was  divided 
among  the  municipalities  involved,  and  betterments  were 
assessed  by  tax  increase.  Property  has  increased  markedly 
ill  value.  Above  the  Basin,  in  Cambridge,  Brighton,  and 
W'atcrtown,  the  water  is  now  held  at  about  the  old  normal 


214  CITY  PLANNING 

high-water  mark,  and  the  rainfall  is  sufficient  to  keep  the 
river  full  at  all  seasons.  In  these  upper  districts  the  shores 
are  not  protected  with  sea  walls ;  the  natural  shores,  eroded 
by  the  former  tidal  action  to  an  angle  of  repose  and  a  proper 
hardness,  resist  the  action  of  waves  raised  by  wind  and 
by  motor  boats.  Shore  vegetation  of  grasses  which  throve 
in  the  brackish  waters  and  which  bound  the  soft  edges 
of  the  meadows  with  their  roots  is  gradually  giving  way  to 
fresh-water  vegetation  which  will  serve  the  same  purpose. 
In  Hamburg,  Germany,  extensive  use  is  made  of  grasses, 
waterside  vegetation,  and  wattles  to  protect  from  wave-cut- 
ting the  edges  of  the  canals  leading  into  the  Alster  Basin. 
This  basin  is  arranged  with  naturalistic  shores  unlike  those 
in  the  lower  Charles  River  Basin.  A  saving  in  cost  of  con- 
struction can  be  made  by  using  naturalistic  stone  paving  or 
boulder  work  to  take  the  place  of  masonry  walls,  thus  elim- 
inating piles,  foundations,  and  cut  stone.  In  Boston  the 
traditions  of  the  lower  Charles  favored  vertical  sea  walls 
which  reclaimed  a  maximum  amount  of  land,  no  space  being 
lost  in  slopes,  and  which  collected  no  floating  rubbish.  So 
much  wall  of  this  kind  had  been  built  on  the  northern  side 
of  the  Basin  when  the  dam  was  installed,  that  a  similar  wall 
on  the  southern  side  was  inevitable. 

Ponded  estuaries  are  liable  to  dangerous  floods  when  a 
heavy  run-off  meets  a  spring  tide.  To  guard  against  these 
conditions,  the  extreme  high  tides  must  be^  kept  out,  and 
the  normal  level  of  the  ponded  area  must  be  lower  than 
the  usual  high  tide  to  give  a  storage  prism.  A  problem  of 
this  kind  well  solved  after  years  of  procrastination  and  after 
many  destructive  floods  may  be  studied  in  a  tributary  of  the 
Charles — Stony  Brook — which  issued  through  the  Fens  into 
the  Basin  in  the  old  days  of  tidal  flow.  In  the  Fens  the 
banks  of  this  brook  were  built  with  high  sides  and  the 
water  was  received  at  last  in  a  great  meadow  also  en- 
closed with  cm])anknients.    In  seasons  of  flood,  this  meadow 


Ci[.\iuj;.s   Ri\'i:k    P.asix,   Boston',    Before    Impkovemext.    Showing 

^\'ATER    AT     L!;VEE    OF     LoW    TiDE 


CiiAKi.i;.s   1<ivi;r    Basin    afiiu    1  m  i'rovi'm  i:nt,    Showinc,    Water  at 
Pi'RMANi.Ni    llicii    Li;vi:i. 


NON-NAVIGABLE  WATERS  215 

was  inundated,  and  the  waters  were  stored  until  an  outflow 
could  be  secured  at  low  tide.  Tide  gates  kept  the  tide 
water  out  of  the  storage  basin  at  all  seasons. 

Pleasure  boating  is  handicapped  and  often  rendered  dan- 
gerous by  low  water  in  tidal  streams  and  by  swift  tide 
eddies.  The  ponding  of  such  streams  renders  them  practi- 
cally still,  and  they  become  ideal  waters  for  boating  and  in 
cold  climates  for  skating. 


The  Service  of  Parks 

Problems  of  non-navigable  waters  within  park  boundaries 
can  be  solved  most  satisfactorily :  parks  provide  space  per- 
mitting shore  improvements  to  be  effected  on  liberal  lines  ; 
parks  may  permit  the  removal  of  piers,  wharves,  bulkheads, 
buildings,  property  lines,  rights  of  way,  and  other  encum- 
brances which  interfere  with  comprehensive  improvements ; 
parks  accelerate  shore  improvements  by  combining  them 
with  road-extension  projects  or  with  park  and  traffic  thor- 
oughfares ;  parks  justify  longshore  improvements  for  rec- 
reative reasons.  In  parks  the  public  will  not  tolerate 
abuses  or  nuisances  that  would  be  accepted  or  ignored  upon 
the  same  ground  when  privately  owned ;  parks  increase  the 
value  of  abutting  private  land  and  assist  the  financing  of 
improvements.  The  experience  and  the  powers  and  organi- 
zation of  park  boards  make  them  ready  executors  of  wa- 
terside improvements  which  can  be  combined  with  park  con- 
struction or  which  can  be  construed  to  relate  to  park  af- 
fairs. Duties  of  this  kind  assumed  by  park  authorities  may 
obviate  the  need  of  special  legislation,  prevent  a  duplication 
of  commissions,  and  remove  sources  of  friction,  expense, 
and  delay. 


2i6  CITY  PLANNING 

Examples  of  Shore  Protection  Involving  Navigable  Waters 

The  embankments  of  the  Thames  at  London  arc  classic 
examples  of  the  reclamation  of  soft,  muddy  shores.  These 
embankments  should  be  studied  with  those  of  the  Seine, 
the  Alster,  the  Tiber,  and  the  Rhine,  to  compare  ingenious 
methods  of  handling  the  local  difficulties  of  a  common  prob- 
lem.^ 

The  Thames  Embankments,  including  the  Victoria,  Al- 
bert, and  the  Chelsea  Embankments,  have  reclaimed  over 
fifty  acres  of  muddy  river  banks  in  the  heart  of  the  city. 
They  are  nearly  four  miles  in  length.  The  Victoria  Em- 
bankment at  its  normal  breadth  is  lOO  feet  wide,  which 
includes  a  65-foot  roadway,  and  two  paths,  one  of  20  feet 
on  the  riverside  and  one  of  16  feet  on  the  landward  side. 
Plane  trees  are  planted  about  25  feet  apart  on  each  side  of 
the  carriageway.  At  Westminster  and  Blackfriars  bridges 
the  carriageway  rises  to  a  height  of  20  feet  above  high 
water,  but  between  the  bridges  it  falls  to  within  4  feet  of 
the  river.  This  change  in  level  is  taken  up  at  the  lamp 
piers  which  separate  the  several  levels  of  horizontal  panels 
of  balustrade  and  parapet  wall. 

Disagreeable  optical  effects  are  sometimes  noticeable  on 
embankments  of  this  type  (note  the  Albert  Embankment), 
where  the  traveled  ways  ramp  up  and  down  between 
bridges,  where  the  bridges  themselves  have  a  pronounced 
camber,  where  the  retaining  and  parapet  sea  walls  are 
sloped  back  with  a  pronounced  batter,  where  the  foot  prom- 
enades slope  downward  toward  the  hinterland,  and  where  the 

^  Photographs  of  important  waterside  im])rovements  in  this  coun- 
try and  in  Europe,  such  as  those  at  New  York,  Montreal,  Chi- 
cago, London,  Paris,  Hamburg,  Budapest,  and  Venice,  are  in  such 
wide  circulation  and  so  readily  brought  to  mind  that  reproductions 
of  them  are  omitted  from  this  chapter. 


NON-NAVIGABLE  WATERS 


217 


immediate  hinterland  slopes  downward  toward  the  water. 
The  slight  departure  from  true  vertical  and  true  horizontal 
in  extensive  flat  surfaces  of  these  kinds  sometimes  pro- 
duces upon  the  observer  a  sense  of  confusion  as  to  the 
true  horizon.  A  low-level  intercepting  sewer  is  arranged 
in  the  Thames  Embankment  backfill,  and  space  is  pro- 
vided, also,  for  a  pipe  conduit  above  it.  Adjoining 
them  is  a  subway  under  the  whole  length  of  the  embank- 
ment  for   the   Underground   Metropolitan   Railway.     Re- 


r^ 


5ECTI0N~VICT0RIAEMDANKMENT-TrtAWE3. 


cessed  stairways  are  built  into  the  face  of  the  wall  to  give 
access  to  floating  landings  for  small  craft  and  to  wooden 
inclines  which  lead  to  the  floating  pontoon  passenger  sta- 
tions of  the  Thames  steamboat  service.  These  landings  rise 
and  fall  with  the  tide.  Great  pains  were  taken  on  the 
southerly  embankment  to  prevent  the  sanitary  and  esthetic 
imj)rovement  of  the  river  shores  from  interfering  with  the 
landward  industries.  To  accommodate  these,  docks  were 
built  behind  the  roadway  and  connected  with  the  river  by 
canals  having  sufficient  headroom  to  accommodate  the  flat 
barges  of  the  Thames,  wiiich  arc  designed  to  pass  under 
low  bridg-es. 


2l8 


CITY  PLANNING 


At  Antwerp,  near  the  great  clocks,  the  river-shore  prob- 
lem is  approached  from  an  opposite  point  of  view — ship- 
ping, railroad  yards,  sheds,  and  a  continuous  bulkhead  are 
the  controlling  factors,  and  recreation  a  minor  one.  To 
accommodate  sightseers,  an  elevated  platform  of  structural 


5CALE  OF  MILES 


BROOK..RIVER.PONDAND  OCEAN  5H0RE5 


Boston  Metkopolitax   District 


Steel  was  built  above  the  roofs  of  the  sheds  and  near  the 
traveling  cranes  of  the  bulkheads  to  permit  pedestrians  to 
enjoy  a  view  of  the  river  and  its  sliipping,  and  at  the  same 
time  to  view  the  loading  and  unloading  of  ships  and  the 
interesting  maneuvers  of  great  dock  machinery. 

At   Meintz  on  the   Ivlnnc.  tlic  jiublic  i^  allowed  to  enjoy 


NON-NAVIGABLE  WATERS 


219 


a  sight  of  the  river  from  a  special  promenade  midway  be- 
tween two  traffic  streets.  Locust  trees  of  very  small  size, 
placed  only  twelve  feet  apart,  shade  this  promenade  without 
cutting  off  a  view  of  the  river  and  its  interesting  shipping 
as  seen  from  the  upper  road. 


5CALEOFM1LE5 


5H0RE5  IN  PUBLIC  CONTROL  IN  1912 


Boston  Metropolitan   District 


Other  European  examples  might  he  cited,  but  the  limits 
of  this  chapter  are  too  short  to  include  them.  The  student 
sliould  \isit  these  great  works  to  see  and  to  measure.  In 
America  the  ticld  of  study  is  small,  but  it  grows  in  im- 
portance each  year,  and  maps,  photograjtlis,  and  rei)orts  arc 
easilv  secured. 


220  CITY  PLANNING 

The  metropolitan  district  of  Boston  offers  a  remarkable 
field  for  the  study  of  non-navigable  waters.  The  illustra- 
tions on  pages  218  and  219  show  the  great  extent  of  these 
waters  and  suggest  the  wide  range  of  topography  embraced 
by  the  watersheds  of  the  Charles,  Neponset  and  Mystic  Riv- 
ers. This  territory  is  occupied  by  thirty  cities  and  towns 
whose  comfort  and  sanitation  largely  depend  upon  these 
waters.  To  what  extent  this  great  community  has  al- 
ready withdrawn  the  shores  of  rivers,  ponds,  and  the 
ocean  from  private  ownership  in  order  to  safeguard  them 
by  public  control  is  indicated  in  the  same  illustration.  As 
time  goes  on,  additional  shores  must  be  taken ;  radical  en- 
largement of  the  scheme  will  be  necessary  as  the  ground 
is  more  fully  developed.  The  present  takings,  which  are 
already  large  in  extent,  give  some  hint  of  the  developments 
which  will  be  required  during  the  next  century.  At  the 
present  time,  examples  of  all  well-known  types  of  shore 
occupation  and  shore  development  can  be  found  in  the 
Boston  district.  Frequent  references  to  these  works  are 
made  in  this  chapter  in  the  hope  that  students  of  these  prob- 
lems will  visit  Boston  and  go  over  the  district  in  detail, 
having  in  hand  the  numerous  available  public  documents  de- 
scribing these  projects. 

BoATiiousES,  Bridges,  Playgrounds,  Harbor  Islands 

Boathouses  and  other  necessary  waterside  structures 
should  be  placed  where  they  will  present  the  least  obstruc- 
tion to  views  and  to  the  use  of  promenades  and  driveways. 
Unless  buildings  of  this  kind  are  frankly  intended  to  domi- 
nate a  shore  composition,  they  should  be  studied  for  a  com- 
pact arrangement,  a  low  roof  line,  and  a  modest  color,  and 
their  site  should  be  as  retired  as  possible.  The  approaches  to 
such  buildings  from  the  water  should  be  planned  to  avoid 
interference  with  vehicular  or  foot  circulation.     To  avoid 


Gk.nkva,    SwiTZERLAXi),    Siiowixc    i ioA I' I loisKs,    Bkeakwatiik,    Pikus 

AND     PrOMICXADES 


Beavkk    IIkook.    Wi)iu-esii;r.   Mass.,   SimwiNii    I  m  i'R()\i;i>   L'iiax: 


NON-NAVIGABLE  WATERS  221 

conflicts  of  this  kind,  bathhouses,  boathouses,  sanitaries, 
and  private  lockers  are  often  placed  under  shore  embank- 
ments. Structures  too  large  or  too  important  to  be  housed 
beneath  ground  in  this  way  are  often  connected  with  the 
water  by  wcll-Hghtcd  underground  subways  like  those  at 
Revere  Beach,  Boston,  described  elsewhere  in  this  chapter. 
Trees  must  be  regarded  as  obstructors  of  views  as 
well  as  furnishers  of  shade.  If  large  trees  arc  objec- 
tionable, they  may  be  kept  within  bounds  by  clipping,  or 
trees  of  small  habit  may  be  chosen.  Electric-light  ])olcs, 
signboards,  band-stands,  refreshment  booths,  and  similar 
structures  also  interfere  with  views  and  with  traffic  cir- 
culation, and  should  be  placed  with  this  fact  in  mind.  In 
choosing  moorings  for  floating  bathhouses,  depth  of  water, 
velocity  of  current,  ease  of  approach,  appearance  from 
water  and  shore,  and  interference  with  boating  courses 
should  be  considered.  The  illustrations  of  the  shores  of 
the  city  of  Geneva,  Switzerland,  show  floating  bathhouses, 
floating  landings,  boat  havens,  boat  liveries,  promenades  and 
other  well-arranged  shore  features. 

Where  bridges  occur,  their  abutments  must  be  placed 
high  enough  above  the  water  to  allow  sufficient  headroom 
beneath  the  ends  of  the  bridge  for  petty  longshore  traffic. 
The  profiles  of  the  longshore  roads  must,  of  course,  ap- 
proach these  alnitments  on  an  easy  gradient,  preferably 
not  exceeding  three  per  cent.  Where  traffic  is  intense,  a 
separation  of  grades  at  bridge  abutments  through  by-passes 
is  desirable  both  for  vehicular  and  foot  travel.  T'ctwecn 
bridges,  the  longshore  walls  or  embankments  may  rise 
or  fall  as  topograpiiy,  water  levels,  or  convenience  may 
rec[uire. 

Monotony  of  appearance  and  barrenness  of  interest  are 
much  more  likely  to  be  found  on  shores  having  a  constant 
water  level  and  little  shipping,  like  the  Charles  River  and 
the  Alster  liasin,  than  on  shores  like  those  of  the  Seine  in 


222 


CITY  PLANNING 


Paris,  where  a  wide  variation  in  water  level  occurs,  and 
where  important  river  traffic  must  be  carried  on  hand  in 
hand  with  the  recreative  uses  of  the  banks.  The  small, 
puzzling  details  as  well  as  the  great  problems  of  a  shore 
improvement   should   be    welcomed   by   the   designer.      He 


should  realize  that  character,  interest  of  treatment,  and  serv- 
ice can  best  be  secured  l)y  following  the  lead  of  local  tradi- 
tions and  local  needs.  Insipid,  stereotyped,  and  tiresome 
residts  are  bound  to  be  created  unless  the  designer  vitalizes 
his  plans  by  keeping  close  to  great  matter-of-fact  require- 
ments and  by  giving  patient  attention  to  details. 


NON-NAVIGABLE  WATERS  223 

At  Dewey  Ticacli,  a  harbor  bathinj^  Ijcacli,  playground 
and  recreation  area  at  Cliarlestown  district,  Boston,  a  bath- 
house and  locker  building  dominate  the  water  front  and 
control  the  design  of  the  promenade,  ai>proaches,  and  the 
small  })layground  for  little  children.  The  great  cost  of  land 
and  its  value  for  shipping  led  the  city  to  make  the  play- 
ground as  compact  as  possible.  Wharves  were  torn  down 
to  give  room  for  this  little  waterside  park.  In  the  Italian 
quarter  of  liostor  ?.  gravel  and  sand  bathing  beach  may  be 
seen  on  the  harbor  front  at  the  North  End  Bathing  Beach. 
Bath-houses  for  women,  with  a  small  playground  for  little 
children,  occupy  one  end  of  the  back  shore,  and  bathhouses 
for  men,  a  ball  field,  and  handball  courts  occupy  the  re- 
mainder of  the  high  ground.  A  double-decked  recreation 
pier  embraces  the  harbor  side.  To  make  room  for  this  im- 
portant recreation  area,  several  wharves  were  torn  down. 

An  interesting  transformation  of  the  ancient  harljor  for- 
tification of  Boston  Harbor,  Governor's  Island  (100  acres), 
is  now  being  made  by  the  Boston  Park  Department  to  create 
a  "water  park"  with  extensive  recreation  grounds,  prom- 
enades, and  groves  overlooking  the  ship  channel  and  anchor- 
age basins.  Great  ])ains  are  taken  to  preserve  the  old  earth 
works,  bomb  proofs,  drill  grounds,  and  the  citadel  in  adapt- 
ing them  to  the  new  uses  of  the  island.  A  plan  is  shown  on 
page  224. 

Rkcreatiox  Piers 

New  York  ofiters  the  largest  field  for  the  study  of  recrea- 
tion piers.  A  popular  two-decked  pier  with  a  sloping  roof 
may  be  seen  at  Past  Twenty-fourth  Street.  This  pier  is 
775  feet  long  and  55  feet  ( inside)  wide.  It  is  controlled 
by  the  Dock  Department  (11)02)  ruid  was  designed  in  1897, 
being  the  first  built  in  Xcw  York,  .'^^eats  are  ])rovi(le(l  for 
2,f)00  persons,  but  over  15.000  are  sometimes  present  at  the 
regular  evening  band  concerts.     (  )ther  more  recent  recrea- 


224 


CITY  PLANNING 


tion  piers  may  be  seen  at  Third  Street,  East  Side ;  Fiftieth 
Street,  North  River;  129th  Street,  North  River;  and  Bar- 
row Street  near  Christopher  Street,  North  River.  The 
recreation  piers  of  New  York  take  the  place  of  waterside 
playgrounds  where  land  is  so  valuable  for  commercial  pur- 


criY  OT  BOSTON 

ncPARTMf-NT  or  fASUf.% 
ftlVlSED  PLAN  rOHTK  DtVELOPMENT 


COVER.NOR.S  ISLAND 

^OSTO^I   HARSOR. 


poses  that  an  area  of  ground  equivalent  to  the  several  decks 
of  the  piers  could  not  be  afforded.  Public  landings  are  fre- 
quently arranged  in  combination  with  piers  of  this  kind. 

Conclusion 


From  the  foregoing  the  reader  has  seen  that  the  topic 
of   this   chapter,   though   superficially   sounded,   rests   on   a 


NON-NAVIGABLE  WATERS  225 

foundation  of  realities  and  necessities.  It  touches  matters 
affecting  t!ie  structure  and  the  texture  of  the  earth  itself 
as  well  as  human  industries  and  the  humanities.  The  re- 
designing of  water  shores  to  fit  them  for  the  use  of  cities 
is  neither  like  the  arranging  of  stage  scenery,  though  a 
setting  is  prepared  for  the  most  vital  aspects  of  city  life, 
nor  is  it  like  the  planning  of  hydraulic  works,  though  it 
has  much  to  do  with  water  confined  or  free  in  rivers,  canals, 
lakes,  and  the  sea.  Evidently  the  test  of  a  successful  design 
of  this  kind  cannot  be  measured  by  its  appeal  to  one  type 
of  man  or  to  one  profession,  but  to  all  kinds  of  men — boat- 
men, truckmen,  engineers,  architects,  landscape  architects, 
painters,  social  workers. 

Works  of  this  kind,  useful  in  service  and  fine  to  behold, 
are  created  by  steadfast  devotion  to  the  solution  of  practical 
problems.  Beauty  in  this  field,  as  in  most  others,  results 
from  perfect  adaptation  of  means  to  ends,  and  it  is  wiser 
for  a  city  to  approach  beauty  by  way  of  utility  than  to  aim 
directly  at  fine  appearances  and  miss  the  great  end  of  effi- 
cient service. 

Bibliography 

Architektcn  un  Ingcnieur-Vercin :  Haiuburj^  und  seine  Bautcn. 

Baxter,  S.  Seaside  Pleasure  Grounds  for  Cities.  Scribncr's, 
June,  1898,  xxiii,  pp.  676-687. 

Bellows  and  Aldrich.  Bridge  Treatment  of  Charles  River 
Basin,  Including  Use  of  Island.  Report  of  Boston  Transit 
Commission  with  the  Joint  Board  on  Boston  Metropoli- 
tan Improvements,  191 1. 

Capakx,  II.  A.  A  Great  Water  Park  in  Jamaica  Bay,  New 
Jersey.  Transactions  of  American  Society  of  Landscape 
Architects,  1899- 1908,  pp.  92-96. 

Charles  River  Basin  Commission.  Report.  Public  document, 
Boston  State  Plouse. 

Cram,    Ralph    Adams.     Island    Development    of    the    Charles 


226  CITY  PLANNLN'G 

River  Basin.  Illustrated.  Pamphlet  of  Boston  Society  of 
Architects.     1907. 

GouRLAY,  R.  S.  Basic  Principles  of  Water-front  Development 
as  Illustrated  by  Plans  of  Toronto  Harbor  Commissioners. 
Proceedings  of  Sixth  National  Conference  on  City  Plan- 
ning, 1914,  pp.  17-53. 

Howard,  J.  G.  Waterside  Avenues.  House  and  Garden,  vi, 
October,  1914,  pp.  164-172. 

Kansas  City,  Mo.  Board  of  Park  Commissioners.  Special  Re- 
port for  the  Blue  Valley  Parkway,  March,  1912.     46  pp. 

Miller,  L.  W.  River  Front  Embankments.  Annals  of  the 
American  Academy  of  Political  and  Social  Science,  Hous- 
ing and  Town  Planning,   19 14,  pp.  254-258. 

Olmsted,  F.  L.,  and  Olmsted  Bros.  See  their  City  and  Park 
Reports,  almost  all  of  which  contain  plans  and  descrip- 
tions of  important  water  treatments. 

Peabody,  Robert  S.  Cities  and  Ports.  Published  by  Metro- 
politan Improvements  Commission,  1909. 

Shurtleff,  Arthur  A.  Island  Development  of  the  Charles 
River  Basin.  Pamphlet  of  Boston  Society  of  Architects 
(Illustrated).     1907. 


CHAPTER  XI 

NAVIGABLR    WATERS' 

Many  different  kinds  of  classification  may  be  employed 
in  analyzing  navigable  waterways.  Tbey  may  be  classified 
as  wide  or  narrow ;  lined  witb  piers  and  slips  or  with  bulk- 
heads ;  subject  to  extreme  variations  in  level  or  to  small 
changes  only ;  lined  with  wet  basins  or  double  level  struc- 
tures, where  range  is  wide ;  bordered  by  uplands  which  are 
commercial  or  industrial,  residential,  or  park ;  bordered  by 
uplands  which  are  flat  and  marshy  or  steep  and  bluff-like ; 
used  primarily  for  commerce  or  for  pleasure  craft ;  lined 
with  structures  designed  to  accommodate  transfer  between 
ocean  craft  and  other  water  craft  or  ocean  craft  and  trunk 
line  railroads ;  lined  with  dry  docks  and  associated  struc- 
tures, railroad  yards,  warehouses,  ore  docks,  coal  pockets, 
grain  elevators,  and  other  special  commodity-handling  fa- 
cilities, or  industrial  plants;  provided  with  such  adjuncts 
of  navigation  as  breakwaters,  buoys,  or  lighthouses ;  lined 
with  structures  which  are  municipally  or  privately  owned, 
revenue  producers  or  not. 

This  apparently  random  list  of  classes  is  seen  to  com- 
prise divisions  of  the  subject  which  can  be  grouped — gen- 
eral topics,  such  as  ownership  and  re\cnue  production,  and 

^  Mucli  of  the  material  in  tliis  chapter  is  taken  from  reports  upon 
the  harl)ors  of  Portland,  Oregon,  and  Los  Angeles,  California, 
wliicii  matter  was  prepared  for  tiie  harl)or  commissions  of  tiiose 
I)orts  Ijy  the  autiior  as  their  consulting  engineer. 

227 


228  CITY  PLANNING 

specific  physical  items,  such  as  breakwaters,  warehouses  and 
railroad  yards.  Among  the  specific  items,  three  districts 
may  be  diflferentiated — the  waterway,  the  hinterland,  and 
the  border  zone.  In  the  following  discussion  of  the  sub- 
ject, the  general  matter  will  be  postponed  until  after  the 
special  items  have  been  treated,  and  a  division  will  be  made 
of  the  latter  so  as  to  group  the  details  according  to  the 
three  districts  mentioned.  The  border  zone  or  marginal 
strip  will  be  understood  to  include  all  the  structures  from 
the  edge  of  the  fairway  or  clear  water  area  to  the  edge  of 
the  zone  of  those  land  structures  (located  back  a  hundred 
feet  or  more  from  tiie  water)  which  are  not  intimately  re- 
lated to  the  use  of  the  waterway. 


The  Waterway 

The  navigable  waters  of  the  United  States  are  such  as 
are  navigable  in  fact  (i6  U.  S.  app.  152),  and  which  by 
themselves,  or  in  connection  with  other  waters,  form  a  con- 
tinuous channel  for  commerce  with  foreign  countries  or 
among  the  States  (109  U.  S.  385;  11  Wall.  411).^  In 
England,  waters  are  theoretically  navigable  if  they  rise  and 
fall  with  the  tide,  the  public  having  the  rights  of  fishing 
and  navigation,  but  the  crown  reserving  ownersliij)  of  the 
bed  ;  in  practice,  however,  all  the  more  im]:)ortant  rivers  are 
entirely  open  to  the  public.- 

Among  the  several  lines  of  analysis  mentioned,  the  most 
obvious  is  the  division  of  the  waterways  into  those  which 
may  be  described  as  wide  and  as  narrow.  The  former 
comprise  the  large  lakes,  the  ocean  with  its  wide  straits, 
large  bays,  and  other  branches,  broad  ri\ers  and,  in  general, 
all  those  waters  on  the  borders  of  which   vessels  can   be 

'  Bouvicr's  "Law  Dictionary,"  Rawlc's  revision,  vol.  ii,  p.  471. 
^  Funk  &  Wagnalls'  "Now  Standard  Dictionary." 


NAVIGABLE  WATERS 


229 


moored  adjacent  to  proper  structures  erected  at  right  angles 
to  the  shore  line,  and  where  there  is  sufificient  space  for 
vessels  to  turn,  when  entering  or  leaving  their  berths,  with- 
out blocking  all  other  sliii)ping.  Narrow  waterways  con- 
sist of  canals,  canalized  rivers,  and  some  exceedingly  nar- 
row branches  of  the  ocean.     The  pier  and  slip  type  of  con- 


iCiSvt 


Typical  Cross-section  of  Bulkhead,  Newark,  New  Jersey 


struction  is  normally  found  upon  wide  waterways,  while 
the  bulkhead  type  must  necessarily  be  employed  upon 
narrow  ones.  With  a  narrow  waterway,  because  of  the  size 
of  modem  craft,  it  is  usually  impossible  to  project  piers  at 
right  angles  to  the  shore  whenever  it  is  deemed  necessary 
to  increase  the  available  berthing  space  in  front  of  a  given 
length  of  water  frontage.  Vessels  must  needs  then  tie  up 
against  a  bulkhead  stiucturc  built  suljslantially  parallel 
with  the  waterway.  Even  in  the  lower  Hudson  River,  with 
its  width  of  practically  a  mile,  the  modern  Atlantic  liners 
interfere  seriously  with  other  navigation  whenever  they 
enter  or  leave  the  bcrtlis  which  have  been  ])rovi<led  for 
them  at  right  angles  to  the  shore  front,  and  it  would  be 
actu.'dlv  danjTcrous  to  have  two  larc^e  vessels  leave  simul- 


230  CITY  PLANNING 

taneously  from  opposite  sides  of  the  river.  In  a  lesser 
degree  this  condition  holds  with  reference  to  all  narrow 
waterways,  so  that  the  usual  type  of  structure  to  be  found, 
in  Cologne,  Germany,  or  Portland,  Oregon,  for  example,  is 
one  of  the  so-called  bulkhead  type  built  parallel  with  the 
stream.  Where  the  waterway  is  wide,  piers  can  be  pro- 
jected into  it. 

Obviously,  it  would  be  difficult  for  a  vessel  to  leave  a 
slip  located  at  right  angles  to  the  shore  front  if  the  width 
of  fairway  in  the  clear  between  ends  of  piers  on  opposite 
sides  of  the  river  was  equal  only  to  the  length  of  the  vessel. 
Some  narrow  waterways  exist  in  which  this  width  is  only 
once  or  twice  the  length  of  the  largest  vessel,  but  three 
times  or  more  is  highly  advantageous,  and  four  should  be 
adopted  as  a  minimum  in  most  instances.  In  some  loca- 
tions it  is  found  advantageous  to  design  one  side  of  the 
waterway  with  a  pier  and  slip  type  of  construction  while 
the  opposite  side  is  designed  with  bulkheads.  Occasionally 
the  piers  and  slips  have  been  constructed  at  an  angle  with 
the  shore  front  where  the  waterway  was  narrow  or  where 
a  current  existed  which  might  inconvenience  vessels  en- 
deavoring to  enter  slips  at  right  angles  to  the  line  of  cur- 
rent. While  the  angular  location  was  used  to  considerable 
extent  at  one  time,  the  disadvantages  from  difficulty  of 
approach  from  the  acute  angle  direction,  both  by  land  and 
by  water,  some  slight  extra  cost  of  construction,  and  waste 
room,  at  both  inner  and  outer  ends  of  pier  sheds,  have  led 
to  the  use  of  the  right  angle  location  in  most  modern  ports. 
For  somewhat  the  same  reasons  the  older,  irregularly  laid 
out  structures  which  had  grown  in  a  haphazard  manner 
have  been  found  disadvantageous,  so  that  the  newer  parts 
of  such  ports  as  Hamburg,  Antwerp,  and  Baltimore  are 
being  constructed  with  long  parallel  slips  and  piers.  The 
latter  port  is  noteworthy  because  of  the  fact  that  the  au- 
thorities are  deliberately  dredging  out  old  irregular  struc- 


NAVIGABLI-:  WATi'.RS  231 

turcs  and  substituting'-  in  their  place  larger  piers  parallel 
with  one  anotlier.  so  designed  as  to  afford  easy  access  from 
both  the  land  and  water  sides. 

Three  or  four  times  the  length  of  the  largest  vessel 
which  will  probably  navigate  a  given  waterway  has  been 
gi\en  as  the  most  advantageous  width  whenever  vessels 
must  turn  and  enter  slips  built  at  right  angles  to  the  shore. 
Where  vessels  tie  up  against  bulkheads  built  parallel  with 
the  shore  line,  no  such  width  is  necessary,  of  course.  In 
this  case  allowance  must  be  made  for  the  vessel  to  tie 
against  the  bulkhead  and,  possibly,  also,  to  accommodate 
a  line  of  river  or  canal  craft  both  inside  and  outside  the 
vessel  when  so  moored.  Room  should  also  be  available  for 
vessels  to  pass  with  amjile  clearance  in  the  remainder  of 
the  waterway.  This  means  that  between  bulkhead  struc- 
tures a  width  of  about  eight  times  that  of  the  normal  vessel 
should  be  luaintained  as  the  total  space  available,  and  that 
a  width  of  four  times  the  normal  vessel  beam  should  always 
be  maintained  in  the  fairway. 

The  old  English  definition  of  a  "navigable  waterway" 
involves  the  idea  of  tidal  changes  of  water  surface.  This 
conception  probably  occurs  in  English  law  and  not  in  jirac- 
tice  as  exemplified  by  the  quotation  from  the  y\merican 
authority,  because  the  range  of  tides  around  the  I'ritish 
Isles  is  much  greater  than  is  usual  on  the  shores  of  the 
waterways  of  the  United  States.  In  fact,  there  is  no  true 
tidal  fluctuation  on  the  Great  Lakes  upon  which  a  very 
great  proportion  of  the  total  tonnage  of  the  Ignited  States 
commerce  is  to  be  found.  In  this  same  conception  must 
be  included  tlie  changes  in  level  of  navigable  rivers  due  to 
floods.  Manifestly  this  range  of  water  surface  will  dictate 
a  corresponding  type  of  water-front  structure  to  accommo- 
date both  water  carriers  and  shore  use  to  the  varying  water- 
]e\"cl  conditions. 

'i'lic  commonest  luu-opean  solution  of  this  question  is  by 


232  CITY  PLANNING 

the  device  of  a  wet  basin,  so-called.  A  large  area  is  sepa- 
rated from  the  ocean  by  a  gate,  so  that  the  range  of  water 
level  inside  the  basin  is  not  affected  by  the  tides  on  the 
outside ;  communication  between  the  inside  and  the  outside 
taking  place  only  during  the  relatively  short  periods  when 
the  waters'  surfaces  are  practically  at  the  same  level.  This 
intercommunication  usually  occurs  at  mean  tide,  since  twice 
as  many  occasions  are  thereby  offered  as  when  high  or  low 
tide  level  is  selected  for  the  level  at  which  the  basin  waters 
are  to  be  maintained.  In  this  country,  even  where  extreme 
changes  of  surface  take  place  (such  as  the  northern  ports 
on  the  oceans  and  most  of  the  ports  on  rivers  subject  to 
flood),  the  problem  has  been  solved  by  the  construction  of 
high  level  or  sometimes  double  level  bulkhead  or  pier  struc- 
tures, the  lower  level  submerged  at  certain  times.  The 
double  level  structure  is  found  to  some  extent  throughout 
Europe,  but  the  wet-basin  type  has  not  been  used  in  this 
country.  Examples  of  such  basins  in  Eifrope  are  found  at 
Liverpool,  London,  Havre,  Amsterdam,  etc.,  while  the 
American  practice  at  ports  with  extreme  tidal  range  is 
exemplified  in  the  case  of  Montreal  and  Halifax.  Some- 
what the  same  type  of  bulkhead  must  be  employed  where 
there  is  a  long-time  wide  periodic  flood  range  such  as  oc- 
curs on  the  Ohio,  Mississippi  and  Columbia  Rivers.  An 
example  of  a  carefully  devised  scheme  for  such  conditions 
is  to  be  found  at  Portland,  Oregon,  on  a  branch  of  the 
Columbia,  where  both  high  single  level  and  also  double 
level  structures  exist. 

Whether  the  waterway  is  to  be  used  for  commercial  or 
pleasure  craft  or  a  combination  of  the  two,  determines  such 
items  as  depth  and  width  of  channels,  and  the  existence 
of  certain  special  structures.  Tn  cases  of  almost  exclusive 
pleasure  use,  race  courses  may  be  laid  out,  bathing  beaches 
arranged,  and  ])rovision  made  for  landing  places  for  small 
motor  and  sail  pleasure  craft,  together  with  all  the  other 


233 


234  CITY  PLANNING 

incidents  of  modern  water  recreation.  Proper  protecting 
structures,  such  as  breakwaters,  lighthouses,  and  buoys,  and 
other  channel  indicators  must  be  constructed,  and  these 
several  features  differ  to  some  extent,  depending  on  the 
depth  and  use  of  the  waterway. 

The  correct  location  and  design  of  breakwaters  form  a 
problem,  the  solution  of  which  can  create  and  maintain  an 
artificial  port  where  nature  has  not  been  generous.  Failure, 
on  the  other  hand,  to  provide  such  protection  as  is  aflforded 
by  a  well-designed  breakwater  has  been  known  to  give  a 
port  such  a  reputation  that  shipowners  and  captains  were 
forced  to  shun  it.  The  careful  laying  out,  maintenance, 
and  buoying  of  channels  is  of  almost  equal  importance, 
and  in  some  instances  taxes  the  ingenuity  of  engineering 
skill  to  the  utmost.  The  constantly  shifting  channels  in 
the  great  inland  rivers  are  well-known  phenomena,  and  the 
necessity  of  ignoring  natural  channels  to  a  large  extent, 
sometimes  creating  channels  for  themselves,  is  said  to  have 
dictated  the  design  of  the  shallow-draft,  stern-wheel  Mis- 
sissippi River  boat. 

Lighthouses,  smaller  beacons,  lighted  buoys,  fog  horns, 
sirens,  and  other  safety  devices  must  be  considered  in  con- 
nection with  water-front  developments  of  any  magnitude, 
and  there  is  ample  opportunity  for  the  city  planner  to  com- 
bine the  latest  scientific  development  with  a  treatment 
which  is  pleasing  to  the  eye  of  the  artist  and  satisfactory 
to  the  layman.  Anchorage  grounds  must  be  provided  wher- 
ever fleets  need  to  be  thus  accommodated,  and  in  some  in- 
stances mooring  dolphins  are  found  advantageous,  at  which 
vessels  can  tie  whenever  the  major  part  of  their  cargo  is 
to  be  transferred  to  other  water  craft.  The  facilities  of 
this  character  in  Hamburg  harbor  are  well-known.  In  tliat 
port  they  are  largely  used  by  ocean-going  craft,  whereas 
their  use  in  this  country  is  princij^ally  by  canal  boats  and 
vessels  of  similar  size  and  is  infrcc|uent. 


NAVIGABLE  WATERS  235 

Wherever  large  craft  are  carried  considerable  distances 
inland  along  narrow  channels,  either  artificial  or  natural, 
it  is  often  found  advantageous  to  turn  the  vessel  in  a  basin 
located  near  the  inland  end  of  the  waterway.  Many  har- 
bors are  thus  provifled  with  turning  basins.  Examples  are 
to  be  found  at  the  inner  end  of  the  so-called  canal  designed 
for  the  Newark  Harbor  improvement.  A  turning  basin 
is  also  provided  in  connection  with  the  inner  harbor  at  Los 
Angeles.  Such  a  basin  is  often  advantageous  in  spite  of 
the  fact  that  modern  vessels  are  usually  towed  to  and  from 
their  berths,  and  that  they  can  be  towed  stern  forward 
practically  as  well  as  bow  foremost. 

Real  estate  on  upland  being  so  much  more  valuable  than 
land  under  water,  in  most  harbors  the  usual  course  is  fol- 
lowed of  first  determining  the  width  of  waterway  in  the 
clear  between  pierhead  lines,  and  the  distance  between 
])ierhead  and  bulkhead  lines  (throughout  which  latter  area 
only  pile  structures  are  to  be  permitted,  because  of  the 
necessity  of  maintaining  the  tidal  prism).  The  area  back 
of  the  bulkhead  lines  so  determined  is  then  solidly  filled 
so  as  to  make  many  acres  of  land.  The  miles  of  meadow 
land  or  salt  marsh  surrounding  Jamaica  P>ay,  Newark  Ray, 
and  other  branches  of  New  York  Ray,  all  of  the  low  lands 
along  the  water  front  of  Seattle,  and  practically  the  w'hole 
harbor  at  Los  Angeles,  have  been  created  by  depositing  fill 
secured  either  from  the  upland  or  by  the  dredging  of  chan- 
nels. In  general  it  may  be  said  that  width  of  waterway  is 
not  so  imjiortant  as  its  continuation  as  far  as  possible  into 
the  upland.  Many  narrow  waterways,  such  as  the  Cuyahoga 
River  at  Cleveland,  the  Chicago  River,  and  (lowanus  and 
Xewtown  Creeks  in  New  \'ork,  carry  tonnages  almost  as 
great  as  that  of  the  Suez  (anal,  sini])ly  in  serving  the  in- 
(histrial  districts  uliicli  tliey  ta]).  .Such  waterways  almost 
in\ariahly  should  be  maintained  because  of  their  industrial 
\alue.     Sometimes  the  eti'ort  is  made  to  cut  off  their  in- 


//  -^       ^„,.. „,..A 


rCNM«yWAN 


236 


NAVIGABLE  WAT]<:RS  237 

efficiency  by  carrying  numerous  bridges  across  them,  but 
under  normal  conditions  the  cost  of  carrying  traffic  around 
such  waterways  is  much  less  in  the  aggregate  than  the 
losses  involved  in  closing  them  to  free  navigation. 

The  Federal  Government  is  charged  with  the  establish- 
ment of  i)ierhead  and  bulkhead  lines,  and  the  army  engi- 
neers are  exceedingly  careful  in  their  determinations  of 
proper  locations  for  such  lines,  having  been  trained  to  esti- 
mate many  years  in  advance  the  commercial  possibilities 
and  in  each  case  making  an  accurate  study  of  the  conditions 
involved  in  maintaining  the  tidal  prism  necessary  to  prevent 
sedimentation  in  approach  channels  and  other  losses  in- 
volving extra  costs  for  maintaining  navigation.  Wherever 
tl.e  government  has  not  already  made  a  study  of  the  situa- 
tion, it  is  wise  to  secure  their  action  at  the  earliest  possible 
date  to  prevent  encroachments  upon  the  waterway  by  un- 
scrupulous commercial  interests. 


The  Hinterland 

The  development  found  upon  the  upland  dictates  to  an 
almost  i)aramount  extent  the  type  of  the  adjacent  water- 
front structure.  First,  a  city  in  active  life,  with  large 
manufacturing  and  shi])ping  interests,  demands  correspond- 
ingly intricate  terminals.  Second,  that  i)art  of  a  city  which 
may  be  considered  in  a  passive  condition,  i.  e.,  of  a  resi- 
dential type,  usually  desires  the  possession  of  the  water 
front  for  the  location  of  beautiful  estates.  This  phase  is, 
perhajjs,  not  so  much  urban  as  sul)urban  or  rural,  l)ut  must 
be  considered  in  any  discussion  of  water-front  jiroblcms 
from  a  cily-planm'ng  standpoint.  TJiird,  the  artistic  and 
recreational  pliases  of  city  life  demand  the  reservation  of 
the  water  frontage  for  park  and  jjonlevard  purj^ioses  ;  and 
modern  thought  seems  to  be  tending  towards  this  use  rather 


238  CITY  PLANNING^ 

than  permitting  the  monopolized  one  of  villa  sites,  by  de- 
signing a  boulevard  between  the  villas  and  the  water,  as 
at  Bar  Harbor  and  Newport,  and  as  has  been  proposed  for 
part  of  the  Cleveland  lake  front. 

While  the  type  of  development  is  an  important  determin- 
ing factor,  the  topography  of  the  border  strip  on  each  side 
of  the  water's  edge  needs  to  be  considered  with  the  great- 
est care.  The  treatment  to  be  accorded  a  low,  originally 
marshy  approach  like  that  in  front  of  Newark,  N.  J.,  is,  of 
course,  radically  different  from  the  development  which 
must  take  place  where  the  water  front  rises  abruptly  in 
high  bluffs  to  the  city  proper,  as,  for  example,  in  the  central 
portion  of  Seattle,  Wash. 

The  facility  of  communication  between  the  hinterland 
and  the  water  front  is  important.  Unless  a  proper  street 
system  connects  the  business  and  industrial  parts  of  a  city 
with  the  wharves,  the  latter  might  just  as  well  be  located 
upon  an  island  or  in  an  adjoining  city.  An  example  of 
such  oversight  is  to  be  found  in  some  of  the  earlier  plans 
(comprehensive  plans,  so-called)  of  a  municipal  harbor  on 
one  of  the  Great  Lakes,  in  the  design  of  which  the  utmost 
care  had  been  exercised  with  reference  to  the  whole  harbor 
zone,  but  no  thought  had  been  given,  even  after  the  harbor 
designs  were  practically  completed,  to  any  sufficient  means 
of  access  between  the  city  proper  and  the  harbor.  Only 
two  or  three  streets,  for  example,  connected  these  two  im- 
portant parts  of  the  community  throughout  a  distance  of 
several  miles  of  water  frontage.  A  glance  at  a  street  map 
of  Alanhattan  Island  shows  that  those  who  laid  out  New 
York  City  went  to  the  other  extreme.  Over  the  major 
portion  of  the  area  of  the  borough  a  gridiron  system  exists, 
with  blocks  200  feet  wide  and  from  600  to  800  feet  long. 
The  short  dimension  of  block  is  parallel  with  the  water 
front  so  that  a  street  presumably  terminates  at  the  water's 
^d^Q  every  260  feet.     Such  a  system  is  theoretically  ideal 


NAVIGABLE  WATERS  239 

for  reduction  of  congestion  along  the  water-front,  and  for 
easy  communication  between  it  and  the  center  of  the  city. 

Obviously,  the  number  of  streets  needed  in  any  case  de- 
pends largely  upon  the  street  traffic  which  must  be  carried. 
I  f  a  port  is  used  primarily  for  the  transshipment  of  goods 
between  large  and  small  vessels  or  between  the  water  front 
and  factory  buildings  located  thereon,  there  is  relatively 
less  necessity  of  a  highly  amplified  street  system  than  if 
the  major  part  of  the  commerce  moves  over  the  streets 
from  the  water  front  to  the  hinterland.  The  latter  condi- 
tion will  exist  in  a  community  which  is  highly  developed 
from  a  mercantile  and  manufacturing  standpoint  and  to 
feed  which  the  waterway  is  used  to  a  large  extent.  Pitts- 
burgh is  a  large  manufacturing  community,  but  the  water- 
way on  which  she  is  situated  does  not  contribute  to  any 
great  extent  at  the  present  time  toward  supplying  her  a 
highway  for  the  transportation  of  crude  or  manufactured 
articles.  On  the  other  hand,  most  of  the  cities  on  the  At- 
lantic seaboard  have  had  their  street  systems  designed  for 
easy  communication  between  city  proper  and  water  front. 

In  such  intensive  development  as  is  found  on  the  west 
side  of  Manhattan  Island,  where  piers  are  projected  out 
from  the  water  front  as  closely  as  possible,  so  as  to  pro- 
vide the  greatest  amount  of  berthing  space  per  front  foot 
of  the  hinterland,  larger  street  areas  must  be  given  up  to 
vehicular  traffic.  The  first  street  back  from  the  water  and 
parallel  with  it  should  be  of  ami)le  width,  not  less  than  100 
feet.  The  latest  water-front  designers  do  not  concur  with 
the  older  engineers  in  believing  that  a  marginal  street  along 
the  bulkhead  is  an  advantageous  method  of  handling  traffic. 
Such  street  preferably  should  be  placed  1)ack  from  the 
water  front  possibly  200  feet  or  more,  so  as  to  provide 
ample  space  for  interchange  of  merchandise  between  water 
carrier  and  vehicle,  and  to  afford  possibility  of  storage 
room    for    ]M-oducts    not    destined    for   immediate   delivery. 


240  CITY  PLANNING 

Facilities  must  also  be  provided  for  the  railroads  to  reach 
the  bulkheads  where  necessary.  With  a  marginal  street, 
the  transfer  is  forced  out  onto  the  piers  or  else  most  of  the 
merchandise  must  be  handled  across  such  marginal  street, 
with  consequent  interference  with  its  traffic. 

Almost  in  direct  pro])ortion  to  the  number  of  streets 
necessary  for  proper  communication  for  freight  transpor- 
tation reasons,  facilities  should  be  supplied  for  the  trans- 
portation of  people  by  street  railroads  or  their  equivalent. 
If  the  water  front  is  used  as  a  passenger  transportation 
terminal,  the  necessity  is  obvious  for  the  carrying  of 
large  numbers  of  people  to  and  fro  between  the  city  proper 
and  the  wharves.  The  requirement,  however,  is  almost  as 
great  where  large  amounts  of  cargo  are  interchanged  at 
the  wharf,  because  of  the  great  number  of  stevedores  and 
dock  laborers  needed  to  effect  its  transfer.  Such  passenger 
facilities  must  be  studied  with  special  reference  to  the  peak 
loads  which  must  be  carried.  In  the  case  of  dock  laborers, 
congested  conditions  are  likely  to  exist  morning  and  even- 
ing. In  the  case  of  passenger  transportation  terminals,  the 
times  of  arrival  and  departure  of  vessels  wdll  be  times  of 
congestion.  It  is  thus  seen  that  ample  passenger  facilities 
should  be  provided. 

In  a  somewhat  similar  manner  the  railroads  should  be 
connected  with  water-front  structures  in  a  more  or  lesi 
intimate  way.  On  the  shores  of  the  oceans  and  the  Great 
Lakes,  wdiere  a  considerable  interchange  normally  takes 
place  between  water  and  rail  carriers,  the  ideal  scheme  is 
one  in  which  each  railroad  line  reaches  each  clement  for 
the  handling  of  merchandise  at  the  water  front.  In  some 
instances  this  has  been  accomplished  by  a  combination  road, 
or  belt  line ;  the  "belt"  idea  being  employed  only  because  it 
is  usually  most  convenient  to  secure  the  desirable  ideal  of 
every  road  reaching  every  water-front  point  through  the 
construction  of  a  line  of  tracks  alone  the  water  front,  over 


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24^  CITY  PLANNING 

which  tracks  all  roads  may  move  and  connect  with  each 
pier  and  bulkhead  by  means  of  suitable  spurs  and  sidings. 
Experience  has  shown  that  the  interchange  of  commodities 
by  land  conveyance,  between  points  on  the  water  front,  is 
almost  invariably  much  more  expensive  than  their  trans- 
portation by  water,  even  where  a  so-called  "belt"  railroad 
exists.  Railroad  facilities  should,  therefore,  be  designed 
primarily  to  secure  the  easiest  access  between  the  water- 
front and  each  of  the  trunk-line  railroads  reaching  the 
community,  without  requiring  each  road  to  operate  an  in- 
dependent system  to  each  water-front  structure.  In  rare 
cases  is  it  possible  or  proper,  deliberately  to  construct  a  belt 
railroad  line  paralleling  the  water  frontage.  Very  few  of 
the  best-known  harbors  of  the  world  possess  a  continuous 
belt  railroad  such  as  that  described  above.  In  Xcw  Or- 
leans, a  lialf-dozen  or  more  railroads  had  so  occupied  water 
frontage  with  their  tracks,  and  had  so  managed  their  busi- 
ness, as  practically  to  exclude  the  general  public  from  use 
of  the  shore  front.  So  heavy  were  the  cumulative  switch- 
ing charges  over  the  several  short  sections  of  railroad  be- 
longing to  the  several  companies,  which  it  sometimes  became 
necessary  to  traverse  when  a  merchant  desired  to  send  a 
car  over  some  special  road  from  his  plant  located  on  an- 
other, that  the  community  found  it  advantageous  (in  the 
effort  to  reduce  such  charges)  to  construct  a  railroad  par- 
alleling the  river  front  and  at  the  same  time  paralleling 
each  of  the  short  sections  of  railroad  wliich  occupied  the 
shore.  Had  the  railroads  cooperated  in  the  interchange  of 
business  and  endeavored  to  benefit  the  community  at  large, 
the  latter  would  not  have  been  involved  in  the  uneconomic 
scheme  of  exjiending  money  for  a  dui)licate  railroad  sys- 
tem of  the  ])elt-line  type.  This  road  amounts  simply 
to  a  means  of  coercion  over  the  railroads  in  order  to  secure 
equitable  shipping  charges.  It  was  necessary  for  no  other 
reason.     In  any  ])lan  for  a  terminal,  either  large  or  small, 


NAVIGABLE  WATERS  243 

it  is  necessary  to  study  the  specific  conditions  which  are 
likely  to  exist  and  design  only  with  them  in  view.  If  busi- 
ness agreements  could  have  been  reached  in  the  case  of 
New  Orleans,  as  were  secured  in  Toronto,  or  as  may  be 
considered  as  possible  in  any  other  normal  condition  in 
accordance  with  which  each  railroad  uses  the  others'  lines 
to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  then  the  scheme  of  a  belt  rail- 
road could  be  ignored,  and  the  system  laid  out  in  a  much 
more  economical  and  satisfactory  way. 

Just  as  with  regard  to  all  other  parts  of  a  city,  so  with 
water-front  areas,  the  relation  of  railroad  trackage  and 
vehicular  street  space  must  be  considered,  only  a  minimum 
of  area  being  allowed  for  joint  use.  The  whole  trend  of 
modern  thought  is  for  the  entire  separation  of  railroad 
trackage  and  city  thoroughfares  through  grade  crossing 
elimination.  This  is  not  always  possible  near  the  water 
front,  but  the  widest  possible  separation  should  be  devised. 

Entirely  distinct  from,  and  in  addition  to,  the  matter  of 
street  arrangement — that  is,  the  direction  in  which  principal 
streets  run  compared  to  the  water  front,  and  the  distance 
apart  of  those  which  lie  perpendicular  to  it — there  exists 
the  great  question  as  to  the  shape  of  the  plots  of  land  ad- 
jacent to  the  water.  Whether  the  land  is  to  be  used  for 
park  purposes,  for  large  manufacturing  enterprises  or  rail- 
road terminals,  or  for  small  factories  or  loft  buildings, 
makes  a  vast  difference.  A  plot  destined  to  be  a  park  is 
usually  determined  as  to  its  boundaries  l)y  the  topography, 
studies  concerning  outline  and  arrangement  being  made 
primarily  with  reference  to  recreational  and  esthetic  fea- 
tures. 

A  i)lot  destined  for  a  railroad  terminal  is  of  greater  value 
to  the  railroad  when  it  is  long  and  narrow  than  when  short 
and  wide,  because  of  the  advantages  and  disadvantages  in 
securing  proper  switching  leads  and  track  lengths.  A  rail- 
road terminal  thus  ])reenij)ls  long  stretches  of  water  front 


244  CITY  PLANNING 

when  it  is  close  to  and  runs  ])arallel  therewith,  and,  if  for  no 
other  reason,  seldom  should  be  allowed  to  occupy  for  yard 
purposes  space  directly  adjacent  to  the  water,  even  when  a 
considerable  interchange  of  water  and  rail  business  is  pos- 
sible. The  yard  should  be  placed  away  from  the  water 
frontage  with  necessary  leads  reaching  the  bulkhead,  and 
only  enough  trackage  close  to  the  water  to  provide  for  im- 
mediate switching  facilities  without  reference  to  long-time 
storage,  or  consolidation,  or  transfer  yards.  Manufactur- 
ing enterprises  which  need  water  frontage  ordinarily  need 
not  occupy  any  considerable  length  of  bulkhead.  The 
larger  tramp  vessels  of  the  present  day  are  seldom  more 
than  400  feet  long.  A  vessel  can  be  amply  accommodated 
when  tied  against  a  bulkhead  on  a  frontage  of  that  length. 
With  a  frontage  as  long  as  400  feet,  however,  a  slip  could  be 
cut  into  the  shore  or  two  piers  projected  from  it  so  as  to 
provide  two  berths  with  more  than  double  the  loading  space 
secured  in  the  same  shore  length  that  would  be  occupied  by 
a  vessel  lying  alongside  a  shore  bulkhead. 

Again,  only  the  very  largest  manufacturing  enterprises 
need  a  plot  of  a  width  greater  than  400  feet,  great  depth 
back  from  the  water  front  being  found  fully  as  advanta- 
geous as  great  shore  frontage  under  almost  every  condition. 
In  the  case  of  loft  buildings  or  small  manufacturing  enter- 
prises grouped  in  combination  structures,  there  may  some- 
times be  such  a  large  amount  of  tonnage  derived  from  each 
building,  with  its  numerous  floors,  that  the  Manhattan 
street  arrangement  may  be  found  advantageous.  Even  in 
the  case  of  such  intensive  use  of  real  estate  for  manufactur- 
ing purposes,  however,  it  is  normally  found  satisfactory  to 
space  streets  running  to  the  water  front  about  450  or  500 
feet  apart,  streets  and  railroad  tracks  often  being  made  to 
occupy  alternate  locations  spaced  half  that  distance  apart. 
The  arrangement  of  most  of  the  industrial  buildings  at  the 
Rush   l\Tininal,   than   which   there   is   probably   no  greater 


NAVIGABLE  WATERS  245 

concentration  of  manufacturing  activity  anywhere  in  the 
world  on  a  similar  plottage,  is  designed  on  this  principle, 
although  the  streets  and  railroads  are  only  about  100  feet 
apart. 

The  depth  of  plot  hack  from  the  water  front  must  often 
depend  upon  the  topography.  In  flat  country,  however, 
where  the  planner  can  chose  his  own  depth,  600  to  800 
feet  should  be  considered  the  maximum,  unless  it  is  found 
desirable  to  maintain  a  marginal  strip  close  to  the  bulk- 
head for  some  si)ecial  reason.  Obviously  the  shape  of  the 
hinterland  must  of  necessity  also  determine  the  street  sys- 
tem to  some  degree. 

The   Marginal   Strip 

The  structures  which  must  occupy  the  marginal  strip 
and  determine  its  general  character  will  obviously  depend 
ui)on  the  use  to  which  the  immediate  hinterland  is  put. 
When  a  park  adjoins  the  water  front,  the  marginal  strip 
must  contain  pleasure  boat  landings,  bathing  beaches  with 
the  incidental  bathhouses,  rest  rooms,  and  similar  struc- 
tures, with  walks  and  drives  closely  adjacent  to  the  water 
frontage  (depending  largely  upon  topography),  and  strips 
of  planting  of  dififerent  varieties  to  frame  the  marine  pic- 
tures and  beautify  the  setting  of  the  whole.  Tn  connection 
with  the  walks  must  be  outlooks,  rest  pavilions  with  seats, 
shaded  spaces,  and  all  of  the  well-known  devices  for  the 
relief  of  humanity  developed  in  park  architecture.  In 
northern  climates,  especially  on  fresh  water,  j^rovision  must 
be  made  for  winter  sports,  and  club  houses  of  a  more  or 
less  complete  character  must  be  erected  adjacent  to  the 
natural  skating  places  or  those  artificially  produced.  Other 
sports,  such  as  ice  l)oating  and  curling,  must  not  be  omitted, 
and  accommodations  shoukl  be  arranged  for  the  summer 
water  sports  of  high  di\ing  and  boat  racing. 


246  CITY  PLy\NNING 

Where  the  topography  is  abrupt,  opportunity  is  increased 
for  exceedingly  attractive  boulevards.  There  is,  perhaps, 
no  more  beautiful  ride  than  that  along  Riverside  Drive, 
which  parallels  the  Hudson  River  for  several  miles  within 
the  Borough  of  Manhattan,  New  York  City,  running  most 
of  its  way  through  Riverside  Park.  Advantage  has  been 
taken  of  the  opportunity  to  develop  the  best  in  landscape 
architecture.  Under  such  conditions  resort  is  often  made 
to  high  retaining  walls  and  sidehill  rock  cuts  to  carry  the 
road,  while  picturesque  resting  places  are  arranged  where 
conditions  afford  points  of  vantage  for  outlooks  up  and 
down  the  miles  of  river,  from  which  views  may  be  obtained 
of  its  shipping  and  pleasure  craft.  The  most  varied  selec- 
tions are  afforded  for  walks,  planted  spaces,  sites  for  monu- 
ments, fountains,  and  similar  architectural  and  esthetic 
structures  of  every  diaracter. 

Where  manufacturing  sites  abut  the  water  front,  the 
special  features  which  mark  the  marginal  strip  are  those 
primarily  needed  in  the  handling  of  the  incoming  crude 
products  such  as  fuel,  ore,  and  sometimes  cotton  and  other 
specialties,  and  for  the  shipping  of  the  outgoing  manufac- 
tured articles  of  the  thousand  and  one  miscellaneous  com- 
modities  handled. 

While  the  esthetics  of  a  huge  ore  dock  or  coal  pocket 
cannot  be  considered  as  of  any  moment,  there  is  still  a 
considerable  social  interest  in  the  magnitude  and  efficiency 
of  such  devices,  and,  wherever  possible,  attention  should 
be  paid  to  providing  access  for  the  public  along  carefully 
devised  streets,  preferably  overhead  or  so  otherwise  dis- 
posed as  to  afford  a  bird's-eye  view  of  the  water  front. 
Foreign  cities  have  given  this  phase  of  the  subject  much 
more  thought  than  have  American  cities  in  general,  al- 
though the  harbor  boulevard  proposed  for  certain  sections 
of  Los  Angeles  would  compare  most  favorably  with  the 
thoroughfares  along  the  Seine  in  Paris,  or  at  some  points 


NAVIGABLE  WATERS  247 

in  the  cities  ui)on  tlic  banks  of  the  Rhine.  Antwerp  har- 
bor is  celebrated  for  the  promenade  which  overlooks  all 
of  the  harl)or  operations  along  a  considerable  length  of  the 
Scheldt,  where  transfer  of  merchandise  between  vessel  and 
warehouse  and  railroad  car  takes  place  by  means  of  great 
traveling  cranes  and  similar  devices. 

The  type  of  wharf  construction  must  of  necessity  depend 
upon  the  use  to  which  the  marginal  strip  is  to  be  put. 
If  deep-draft  vessels  carrying  heavy  loads  are  to  be  accom- 
modated, the  design  must  be  that  of  a  massive  wall  or  an 
apron  reaching  out  from  the  shore,  so  that  the  vessel  can 
lie  in  deep  water  and  still  be  tied  directly  against  the  shore 
structure.  Along  many  rivers  subject  to  wide  fluctuations 
of  level,  both  in  this  country  and  in  Europe,  the  banks  are 
sloped  and  the  slopes  properly  paved.  This  paving  serves 
two  purposes — it  protects  the  banks  from  erosion  and 
serves  as  a  landing  place  for  cargo.  The  paved  slopes  on 
the  levees  along  the  I\lississii)pi  River  are  well-known  ex- 
amples in  this  country,  and  some  of  the  works  along  the 
Rhine  are  of  this  type. 

For  landing  places  for  small  craft,  it  is  usual  to  su]:)ply 
floating  stages.  Such  a  one  lately  constructed  on  the  Willa- 
mette River  at  Portland.  Oregon  (except  for  the  pontoon) 
is  of  reinforced  concrete  and  of  excellent  design.  The 
same  general  scheme  is  used  for  ocean-going  vessels  in 
the  celebrated  landing  stage  at  Liverpool,  but  has  not 
reached  any  wide  use  elsewhere.  The  old-fashioned  wharf 
boat  used  on  the  IVFississippi,  Missouri  and  Ohio  rivers,  con- 
sisting of  an  old  barge  connected  with  the  shore  by  a 
bridge  and  so  moored  as  to  be  capable  of  easy  shifting  with 
changes  of  water  level  by  moving  barge  and  bridge  i)i  toto 
up  or  down  the  slope,  is  a  modification  of  the  float 
landing. 

\'ery  many  varieties  of  design  for  botli  the  bulkhead 
wall  and  the  ajiron  above  mentioned  arc  found  at  diff'erent 


248  CITY  PLANNING 

ports  of  the  world,  depending  upon  such  matters  as  the 
rise  and  fall  of  the  tide,  the  heights  of  low  water  and  of 
flood,  the  draft  of  vessels  which  must  be  accommodated  and 
the  topography  of  the  land  close  to  the  shore.  The  last 
consideration  will  determine  the  levels  and  locations  of  any 
thoroughfares  adjacent  to  the  bulkheads,  the  railroad  tracks 
reaching  it  for  the  accommodation  of  manufacturing  build- 
ings or  warehouses  and  transfer  sheds,  and  all  the  other 
necessary  elements. 

While  the  width  of  waterway  determines  in  some  meas- 
ure whether  a  pier  or  bulkhead  type  is  to  be  used ;  while 
the  range  of  water  surface  determines  the  height  of  the 
design  (whether  it  is  to  be  one- or  two-story  and  whether 
or  not  basins  are  to  be  employed  to  obviate  tidal  difficulties)  ; 
the  kind  of  traffic  interchange  determines  the  next  most  im- 
portant details  of  the  structure.  The  various  types  of  water 
carriers  may  be  listed  as  follows : 

(a)  Ocean  liners;  varying  in  length  from  looo  down  to 
perhaps  300  feet,  with  drafts  from  35  feet  to  15  feet. 
Coastwise  shipping  may  or  may  not  be  included  in  this 
category  but  usually  is  so  considered.  The  craft  on  the 
Great  Lakes  are  a  unique  variety  because  of  their  relatively 
shallow  draft  for  a  given  length  compared  with  ocean- 
going vessels.    Otherwise  they  may  be  considered  as  of  this 

type. 

(b)  River  craft  such  as  that  found  on  the  Mississippi 
and  to  some  extent  on  the  Columbia  Rivers  in  this  country, 
and  the  special  types  found  upon  the  Rhine  and  Danube 
in  Europe. 

(c)  Canal  boats  of  the  old-faslTJoned  type  made  famous 
by  the  Erie  Canal  in  this  country,  or  tlie  modernized  varie- 
ties found  almost  exclusively  in  Europe  at  the  present  time, 
l)Ut  likely  to  become  more  familiar  in  this  country  upon 
the  completion  of  the  New  York  Barge  Canal  and  upon 
the  canalization  of  some  of  the  inland  rivers. 


NAVIGABLE  WATERS  249 

Methods  of  land  conveyance  consist  of  the  following: 

(a)     Rail  carriers  of  the  transcontinental  railroad  type. 

(h)  The  high-speed  trolley  railroad,  which  is  coming 
more  and  more  into  prominence  in  dififerent  ])arts  of  the 
United  States. 

(c)  The  varieties  which  traverse  the  city  streets  with- 
out the  use  of  rails,  among  which  must  he  included  the 
motor  truck  and  the  horse-drawn  vehicle. 

Types  of  wharf  structures  must  he  provided  which  will 
permit  interchange  hetween  each  one  of  the  water  carriers 
and  each  one  of  the  land  carriers  in  both  directions,  and 
also  hetween  each  two  varieties  of  water  conveyance.  These 
several  interchanges  may  be  listed  as  follows : 


Ocean 

to 

rail. 

IC 

truck. 

River 

rail. 

<( 

truck. 

Canal 

rail. 

(( 

truck. 

Ocean 

river. 

<( 

canal. 

River 

(( 

Interchange  between  the  several  types  of  land  conveyance 
usually  will  be  found  to  take  place  at  other  points  than  the 
water  front,  because  of  the  value  of  the  latter  for  use  by 
strictly  water-borne  craft,  and  its  usefulness  for  park  and 
other  ])ur])Oses  when  not  demanded  by  water  commerce. 

Studies  in  connection  with  every  modern  port  design  are 
being  made  to  a  much  greater  extent  than  in  former  years, 
looking  to  securing  greater  facility  of  handling  and 
conse(|uent  economy  of  interchange.  The  location  of 
railroad  tracks  u])on  piers  or  bulkheads  has  received 
most  detailed  analysis,  but  even  where  found  unnecessary. 


250  CITY  PLANNING 

old  habits  still  continue  to  dictate  to  a  noticeable  degree, 
and  tracks  are  often  placed  where  they  are  actually  detri- 
mental. Tracks  are  almost  invariably  found  placed  adjacent 
to  the  stringpiece  on  all  pier  and  bulkhead  structures  built 
on  the  Pacific  Coast,  whereas  this  location  is  rare  in  Atlantic 
seaports.  The  actual  amount  of  direct  interchange  possible 
and  probable  should  be  the  determining  factor.  Obviously, 
this  will  vary  more  with  the  commodity  than  with  any  other 
feature,  it  being  necessary  to  have  some  commodities  landed 
and  inspected  by  customs  officers  before  they  can  be  re- 
loaded ;  and  miscellaneous  cargoes  usually  need  to  be  dis- 
tributed and  re-collected.  It  is  thus  seen  that  bulk  cargo 
only,  and  a  relatively  small  quantity  of  very  heavy  pieces, 
can  be  handled  advantageously  through  direct  interchange, 
but  that  otherwise  there  is  likely  to  be  loss  of  motion  with 
involved  extra  cost  where  the  majority  of  the  cargo  must  be 
transferred  across  an  open  space  designed  for  railroad  car 
use  but  not  so  occupied  during  any  considerable  part  of  the 
time. 

Furthermore,  it  is  manifest  that  the  type  of  commodity 
handled,  whether  passengers  or  freight,  will  also  determine 
to  a  great  extent  the  design  of  the  wharf  structure.  As  has 
already  been  pointed  out,  general  or  miscellaneous  cargo 
needs  a  dififerent  type  of  structure  than  that  required  for 
special  cargo,  such  as  ore,  grain,  coal,  fruit,  cotton,  etc., 
wdien  handled  in  large  quantities.  Passenger  accommoda- 
tions naturally  must  be  much  more  elaborate  than  those  for 
freight ;  ticket  offices,  waiting  rooms,  toilet  facilities,  bag- 
gage and  express  offices,  restaurants,  etc..  not  being  essen- 
tial to  the  handling  of  the  latter. 

The  transatlantic  piers  on  the  west  side  of  Manhattan 
Island,  New  York  City,  in  the  so-called  Chelsea  district, 
are  well  known  for  their  adequacy  as  combined  pas- 
senger and  freight  piers  for  vessels  of  the  largest  type. 
An  interesting  design  which  was  dcvclo])e(l  in  an  effort  to 


NAVIGABLE  WATERS  251 

accommodate  practically  all  of  the  several  varieties  of  in- 
terchange listed  above  is  to  be  found  at  Portland,  Ore., 
where  both  ocean-going  vessels  and  river  craft  are  found, 
where  a  railroad  spur  touches  the  dock  and  motor  trucks 
and  horse-drawn  vehicles  are  accommodated,  and  where  so 
great  a  range  of  water  level  occurs  yearly  that  a  two-level 
structure   is   required. 

The  facilities  on  the  landward  side  of  the  water  front 
must  include  dry  docks  of  various  sizes,  in  accordance  with 
the  demands  of  shipping,  with  attendant  machine  shops, 
cranes,  and  outfitting  establishments.  Where  the  water 
front  is  designed  to  accommodate  special  types  of  cargo, 
such  as  ore,  grain,  etc.,  storage  facilities  must  be  specially 
designed.  The  unloading  ore  docks  at  Ashtabula  and  Buf- 
falo, and  the  ore-loading  docks  at  Marquette,  are  known 
the  world  over,  while  the  grain  elevators  at  Duluth  and 
IMontreal  have  been  widely  pictured.  The  new  designs  for 
the  port  of  Seattle  include  special  accommodations  for  fish, 
lumber,  grain,  and  fruit,  in  addition  to  a  development  of 
ample  proportions  for  miscellaneous  cargo.  New  Orleans 
has  lately  started  special  cotton-shipping  warehouses,  with 
equipment  of  the  most  modern  and  economical  type.  A 
study  of  any  port  problem  from  a  city-planning  standpoint 
must  consider  sucii  specialties  in  a  comprehensive  scheme. 

Usually  warehouses  must  be  provided  where  miscellane- 
ous cargo  can  be  handled  in  any  quantity,  in  addition  to  the 
bulkhead  or  pier  sheds  where  merchandise  is  deposited  tem- 
porarily for  quick  transfer  to  vessel  or  land  conveyance 
from  the  opposite  carrier.  In  some  instances,  where  foun- 
dation conditions  arc  suitable,  warehouses  may  be  com- 
bined willi  tlie  sliipping  shed  in  multi-storied  structures. 
Such  is  the  case  in  Liverpool  around  the  wet  basins.  Nor- 
mally, h()\vc\-er,  tlie  warehouses  can  l)e  more  economically 
placed  on  ibe  upland,  with  less  cxf)ensive  sheds  on  piers 
or  bulkheads,  the  former  to  be  used  for  long  storage  and 


252  CITY  PLANNING 

the  latter  for  the  purpose  of  transfer,  sorting  and  quick 
delivery.  Where  conditions  warrant,  these  wharf  sheds  can 
be  built  two  stories  in  height,  one  story  to  be  used  for  in- 
coming and  the  other  to  be  used  for  outgoing  cargo,  for 
example ;  or  one  for  passengers  and  the  other  for  freight. 
The  well-known  piers  in  the  Chelsea  district  of  the  Borough 
of  Manhattan,  used  by  the  transatlantic  liners,  and  the 
newer  structures  in  Boston  and  Montreal,  are  of  the  two- 
story  type,  while  the  designs  for  all  but  one  of  the  highly 
efficient  piers  at  the  Bush  Terminal  in  South  Brooklyn  are 
of  one-story  construction,  storage  warehouses  six  or  more 
stories  in  height  being  placed  on  the  land  immediately  in 
the  rear  of  the  bulkhead  and  a  hundred  feet  back  from  it. 


General  Economics  of  the  Problem 

A  relationship  must  exist  between  the  land  and  water 
areas ;  the  length  of  water  frontage  and  the  tonnage  to  be 
handled  over  it ;  the  tonnage  in  proportion  to  the  people 
served  in  the  community  and  those  occupying  the  tributary 
territory  or  hinterland.  Again,  the  rate  of  growth  as  a  port 
will  follow  nearly  the  same  rate  as  that  of  the  community 
at  large,  and  the  tonnage  of  the  port  can  be  compared  in 
proper  terms  with  the  manufactures,  the  railroad  tonnage, 
and  other  indications  of  a  community's  growth. 

The  land  and  water  areas  depend  for  their  relationship 
upon  the  speed  with  which  vessels  can  approach  the  wharf, 
how  rapidly  the  vessels  can  be  unloaded,  with  what  celerity 
the  cargo  can  be  moved  from  the  wharf  sheds,  and  whether 
stored  in  warehouses  adjacent  to  the  water  front  or  shipped 
to  distant  points,  together  with  the  percentages  which  are 
so  stored  and  shipped.  More  water  area  is  required  where 
vessels  must  approach  the  dock  slowly  and  must  anchor 
for   longer   or   shorter   periods    in   almost   every    instance. 


NAVIGABLE  WATERS 


253 


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254 


CITY  PLANNING 


The  speed  with  which  the  cargo  is  removed  from  the  vessel 
and  loaded  into  it  will  determine  the  total  length  of  wharf- 
age required  and,  therefore,  the  proportionate  dimensions 
of  the  water  area  necessary  to  accommodate  vessels  ap- 
proaching and  anchored  while  waiting  for  a  chance  to  dis- 
charge and  load.  The  width  of  wharf  shed  will  depend 
largely  upon  the  celerity  with  which  the  cargo  is  removed 
from  that  structure,  provided  always  the  wharfage  along 

Table  2 
tonnage  per  unit  of  water  and  land  surface 


Ports 

Marine  Movement  per 

Hectare  of  Sheltered 

Water,  in  Tons' 

Commercial  Movement 
I)er  Hectare  of  Adja- 
cent Land,  in  Tons 

Hamburg 

77,500 

104,000 

113,000 

80,000 

74,500 

55,500 

100,000 

97,000 

126,000 

115,000 

93,000* 
144,000* 

Antwerp 

Liverpool 

Dunkirk  (docks) 

54,000 
72,000 
49,000 
84,500 
77,000 

Havre  (docks) 

Barcelona 

Marseilles 

Genoa 

Triest 

Buenos  Aires 

37,500 

'  The  ground  lying  behind  the  quay  walls  built  on  the  river  shore  has  been  taken 
into  account  in  these  figures. 


the  water  is  to  be  constantly  used  for  discharge  and  loading 
of  vessels,  the  wharf  sheds  not  being  used  for  strictly  stor- 
age purposes  to  any  appreciable  extent.  The  amount  of 
cargo  transshipped  by  rail  will  determine  the  amount  of 
trackage  required,  thus  determining  the  amount  of  wharf 
space  necessary  for  railroad  tracks,  sidings  and  yards.  The 
amount  of  cargo  stored  near  the  water  front  will  determine 
the  size  of  warehouses  within  the  limits  dictated  by  the  class 
of  commodity  handled,  bulky  produce  requiring  more  space 
than  metals  or  other  heavy  cargo. 


NAVIGAHLR  WATERS  255 

Experience  alone  can  determine  the  relative  spaces  re- 
quired for  the  several  ])arts  of  a  port  mentioned.  Such 
information  is  to  l)e  ohtained  only  from  an  examination  of 
the  efficiently  oj)erated  jmrts  throui^^hout  the  world.  Con- 
cerning this  item,  Tables   i   and  2,  taken  principally  from 

Table  3 
tonnage  per  unit  length  of  wharf  per  annum 

Port  or  Docks  Unit  Tonnage 

Antwerp 374 

Glasgow 1 76 

Liverpool 148 

Hamburg 135 

Rotterdam 230 

Havre 95 

Dunkirk 1 24 

Barcelona 132 

Marseilles 194 

Genoa 182 

Gowanus  Canal,  Brooklyn 250 

Newtown  Creek,  Brooklyn 170 

N.  Y.  Trans-Atlantic  Piers 210 

N.  Y.  Coastwise  Piers 220 

Certain  Brooklyn  Piers 60 

Capacity  of  same 1 50 

Erie  Basin,  N.  Y.  Harbor 70 

Portland,  Oregon 158 

San  Francisco 128 

Los  Angeles 67 

Total  for  19  ports 2,899 

Average  of  all  except  Antwerp 152 

a  report  by  J.  Kraus,  concerning  the  harbor  of  X'alparaiso, 
give  valuable  information. 

Where  the  water  front  is  used  with  a  relatively  high  de- 
gree of  efiiciency,  so  that  vessels  are  almost  constantly 
loading  and  unloading,  one  following  another  with  but  a 
few  hours  intermission,  there  is  found  to  be  an  average 
r;ile  at  which  cariro  is  handled.     This  average  rale  is  not 


256  CITY  PLANNING 

more  than  half  the  maximum  one  at  which  vessels  are  often 
discharged  and  loaded  under  stress  of  circumstances,  such 
average  taking  account  of  delays,  breakdowns,  slack  times, 
etc.,  through  the  whole  year,  and  some  portions  of  the  port 
which  are  less  efficiently  used  than  others,  because  of  kind 
of  commodity  or  necessary  method  of  handling.  For  ex- 
ample, miscellaneous  freight  cannot  be  handled  as  rapidly 
per  ton  as  can  grain,  cement,  or  other  commodities  which 
can  make  use  of  special  machinery,  when  such  special  com- 
modity is  to  be  handled  in  sufficient  quantity  to  make  such 
apparatus  economical.  Table  3,  taken  from  the  Report  of 
the  Jamaica  Bay  Improvement  Commission  for  1909,  and 
somewhat  amplified,  gives  information  of  port  conditions 
throughout  the  world,  with  reference  to  the  commodity 
tonnage  handled  per  foot  length  of  wharf  per  annum. 

The  problem  as  to  the  amount  of  water  frontage  which 
may  be  found  advantageous  in  any  case  may  be  approached 
from  several  directions.  Ports  on  the  seaboard  may  be 
measured  in  terms  of  imports  and  exports  with  an  allowance 
for  other  shipping  (river,  canal  and  inner  harbor),  plus  a 
proper  amount  for  industrial  water-front  use.  Or  the  whole 
may  be  determined  on  the  basis  of  the  relationship  of  the 
manufacturers  to  the  water  transportation  required  to  handle 
the  imported  and  exported  products.  Again,  the  total  ton- 
nage, particularly  in  the  case  of  ocean-going  freight,  has 
been  found  to  bear  some  rough  relationship  to  the  number  of 
inhabitants  of  a  port.  Data  with  regard  to  the  length  of 
total  wharfage  to  per  cent,  of  population  in  several  cities  of 
the  world,  is  given  in  Table  4,  while  Table  5  shows  the 
distribution  between  ocean-going,  coastwise,  river  and  inter- 
harbor  craft  and  railroad  and  other  usage  on  the  west  side 
of  Manhattan  Island.  This  percentage  of  relationship  is 
not  available  for  use  under  ordinary  circumstances  because 
of  the  fact  that  it  includes  no  industrial  district  and,  fur- 
ther, that  the  railroad  use  is  larger  than  should  be  found 


NAVIGABLE  WATERS 


257 


advantageous  in  a  broad  way  for  the  country,  because  in 
this  case  all  products  destined  for  Manhattan  Island  and 
derived  from  the  majority  of  the  trunk  lines  must  be 
lightered  across  the  Hudson  River.     It  is  estimated  that 


Table  4 
length  of  wharf  per  thousand  population 


City 

Length  of  Wharf 

Population 

Length  of  Wharf 
per  1,000 
Population 

London       

223,000 

187,269 

53,700 
22,329 
83,460 
51,140 
28,643 
111,585 
74,696 

51,459 

70,922 
60,113 

24,543 
43,000 
25,500 
24,000 

7,429,740 
704,134 
735,906 

328,945 
802,793 
130,196 
38,925 
74,093 
300,000 

260,000 

517,498 
557,614 
356,000 
416,912 
207,000 
400,000 

30 
268 

74 
68 

Liverpool     > 

Birkenhead  / 

Glasgow 

Bristol 

Hamburg 

104 

Havre       

386 

Dunkirk   

73 

Bilboa       

136 

Antwerp     

240 

Bremen 1 

Bremerh aven  /  ■  •  •  • 

Marseilles 

Amsterdam 

Lisbon     

197 

140 
108 

69 
103 
123 

60 

San  Francisco 

Portland,  Ore 

Los  Angeles 

Total  for  16  ports 
Average 

2,188 
136 

fully  50  per  cent,  of  the  total  water  frontage  of  New  York 
Harbor  is  used  for  industrial  purposes. 

So  ni.'uiy  \aricties  of  structure  have  been  described  that 
it  is  almost  impossible  to  give  any  general  information  as 
to  ])robablc  costs  without  accurate  knowledge  of  the  special 
design  in  each  case.     One  dollar  and  a  half  a  scjuare  foot 


2S8 


CITY  PLANNING 


will  cover  the  cQst  of  most  single-level  pier  and  wharf 
structures.  To  this  should  be  added  a  sufficient  figure  to 
cover  the  dredging  between  piers  and  the  cost  of  pier  sheds. 
The  latter  may  be  roughly  estimated  as  $1.50  per  square 
foot  per  floor.  After  all  grading  is  done,  a  single-track 
railroad  can  be  installed  for  about  $2.50  per  running  foot. 
Warehouses  for  purely  storage  purposes  can  be  built  for 


Table  5 


PROPORTION   OF   WATER-FKONT   USED   BY   VARIETIES   OF 
SHIPPING    IN    NEW    YORK 


From  North  Side  of 
Pier  New  1  to  125 
Feet  South  of  Pier 

New  48:    11,780  Feet 
=  2.23  Miles 

From  North  Side  of 

Pier  New  1  to  North 

Side  of  West  30th 

Street:    20,658  Feet 

=  3.91  Miles 

1 

Transatlantic  steamships .... 

Coastwise  steamships 

Railroads 

1 . 4  per  cent. 
15.6 
47-9 

5-3 
10. 0 

95 

4-3 

5-8 
0.  2 

17.5  per  cent. 

24-3 
30.8 

3-0 

5-7 

7.8 

3-9 

6.9 
0. 1 

Hudson  River  boats 

Sound  steamers 

Ferries 

Open  wharfage 

Miscellaneous:         coal,     ice, 
dumps,  oysters 

Recreation  piers 

somewhat  less  than  $o.io  per  cubic  foot.  Obviously,  the 
total  cost  per  running  foot  of  bulkhead  or  pier  stringpiece 
will  depend  upon  many  elements,  but  under  normal  con- 
ditions a  figure  of  $5C)0  per  running  foot  may  be  allowed  to 
cover  costs  of  all  structures  back  for  a  width  of  fifty  feet 
from  the  stringpiece. 

In  America  the  tradition  has  been  that  the  economic  as- 
pect is  of  the  utmost  importance.  It  so  happens  that  in 
almost  every  port  the  shipping  facilities  are  self-supporting; 
in  fact,  they  have  usually  been  developed  because  they  will 


XAVIGABLK  VVAT1-:RS 


259 


create  a  financial  return.    Tn  consequence,  water-front  struc- 
tures are  often  crude  affairs,  designed  primarily  to  produce 


Cienercjl       Plan 


•"wffwwwTrh/m/m 


'•*^5??^5?w;^j^^>^^ 


tnd    Elevation     of    Docks 


XOZEI 


WrKhNest 


Cross-section   through   shed  and   marginal   street 

Plan   axd    Im.evatioxs   of   Tvimcai.    Proi'oski)    Dock    Structt'res, 

POUTI.AM),    ()kk(;o.\ 


tlie  greatest  financial  return  with  the  least  primary  e\])cndi- 
tiire.      11iis   fiiiaiuial   aspect   lias   been   to   some   extent   sub- 


26o  CITY  PLANNING 

merged  in  European  city  planning  so  that,  while  structures 
may  be  erected  for  utilitarian  purposes  primarily,  the  es- 
thetic side  is  given  much  more  attention  than  in  this  country. 
It  is  believed  that  this  attention  will  often  give  a  measure 
of  return  upon  money  spent  in  artistic  treatment  through 
greater  interest  created  in  the  citizenship  and,  on  the  part 
of  strangers,  with  regard  to  the  wharf  structures  themselves, 
and,  by  reflection  as  to  buildings  in  general,  in  the  com- 
munity at  large.  It  should  be  said,  therefore,  that  in  city 
planning  of  water-front  structures  (as  in  probably  every 
other  phase),  utility  should  stand  first  but  the  esthetic  side 
should  by  no  means  be   forgotten. 

In  considering  the  utilitarian  aspect,  the  detailed  eco- 
nomics of  the  problem  invariably  deserve  study.  It  is  very 
easy  to  sketch  a  system  of  piers,  wharves,  bulkheads,  and 
railroad  tracks  along  the  shore  line  of  any  community,  but 
such  mere  sketching  is  a  waste  of  time  unless  the  proposed 
structures  bear  some  distinct  and  intimate  relation  with  the 
problems  with  which  the  city  is,  or  is  likely  to  be,  con- 
fronted, and  the  structures  have  been  shown  by  experience 
to  be  those  best  fitted  to  effect  a  satisfactory  result  through 
efficient  operation.  It  is  wasted  time  to  provide  grain  eleva- 
tors where  no  grain  will  move,  or  to  handle  lumber  through 
a  miscellaneous  cargo  pier  shed  (except  in  the  smallest 
quantities).  Just  as  the  type  of  merchandise  must  be 
studied,  so  must  the  specific  location.  A  double-deck  struc- 
ture becomes  particularly  effective  where  the  second  level 
may  be  reached  from  high-level  uplands  by  means  of  a 
short  viaduct. 

The  most  satisfactory  approach  to  any  port  problem  is 
to  determine  the  topography  of  the  site  and  the  commodities 
to  be  handled  through  studies  of  geography  (using  that 
term  in  the  sense  botli  of  topography  and  climatology),  com- 
merce, population,  and  all.  the  phases  of  modern  life.  Then 
ascertain  how  as  nearlv  similar  problems  as  it  is  possible  to 


NyWIGARLK  WATERS  261 

find  have  been  treated  elsewhere,  inchiding  each  of  the 
items  above  considered. 

The  setting  aside  by  mnnicipaHties  of  large  areas  on  the 
water  front  for  pnrcly  indnstrial  development  is  one  which 
has  been  neglected  in  this  country  almost  completely.  In 
Europe,  however,  every  progressive  city  on  the  Rhine,  for 
example,  has  acquired  property  which  it  is  holding  for  de- 
velopment as  an  industrial  harbor  district.  Some  of  them 
already  have  immense  chemical  and  iron  industries  located 
upon  municijial  land,  or  land  which  was  originally  acquired 
by  the  city  and  sold  to  the  industrial  concern  at  an  attrac- 
tive figure.  The  little  city  of  Kmden  with  a  population  of 
less  than  20,000,  has  set  aside  a  water-front  site  consisting 
of  over  1 ,000  acres  to  be  devoted  to  industrial  works  "which 
will  develop  in  course  of  time." 

While  the  city  planner  may  have  little  to  say  as  to  the 
policy  with  regard  to  the  factor  of  municipal  ownership, 
it  should  be  constantly  borne  in  mind  that  the  whole  ten- 
dency of  modern  times,  with  regard  to  water-front  owner- 
ship, seems  to  be  towards  complete  municipal  control  instead 
of  private  ownership.  Owing  to  the  great  success  which 
has  attended  municii)al  ownership  of  docks  in  Europe,  and 
in  those  cities  in  iVmcrica  wdiich  have  practiced  it  for  any 
length  of  time,  most  experts  on  the  subject  consider  that 
municipal  ownership  and  a  limited  leasehold  to  operating 
individuals  or  comj:)anics  is  the  wisest  method  of  operation 
of  water  frontage  at  the  present  time.  The  variety  of 
ownershi]).  of  course,  will  modify  to  a  certain  extent  the 
design  of  structures..  Where  pri\ate  ownership  exists  there 
is  a  natural  tendency  to  exclude  the  i)ublic.  Under  munici- 
pal ownership,  however,  the  public  is  given  greater  freedom 
of  access,  which  must  1)e  rellected  in  the  designs  finally 
worked  out,  in  any  case. 


262  CITY  PLANNING 


Bibliography 

Baltimore.  Baltimore  Harbor  Improvement  by  Lackey,  O.  F. 
Proceedings  of  Third  National  Conference  on  City  Plan- 
ning, 1911,  pp.  179-183. 

Boston.  Harbor  and  Terminal  Improvements  at  Boston.  En- 
gineering News,  Ixvi,  November  2,  191 1,  pp.  532-536. 

Connecticut.  Report  of  Connecticut  Rivers  and  Harbors  Com- 
mission, 1910.     Hartford,  191 1.     71  pp. 

Harbor  Cities  of  the  World:  A  Collection  of  Photos  of  Har- 
bor, Dock,  and  Wharf  Plans.     Richmond,   1914.     30  pp. 

New  York  City.  Department  of  Docks  and  Ferries.  Reports. 
New  York,  1910-1912.  Treats  of  New  York  terminal  fa- 
cilities. 

.  Report  on  Scope  and  Limits  of  Expropriation,  "Inci- 
dental" vs.  "Excess"  Condemnation,  by  J.  De  W.  Warxer. 
New  York,  1912.    30  pp. 

Peabody,  R.  S.  a  Holiday  Study  of  Cities  and  Ports.  Publi- 
cation of  the  Boston  Society  of  Architects.     Boston,  1908. 

52  pp. 

San  Francisco.  The  State  Wharves  of  San  Francisco,  a  Lucra- 
tive Property  by  Stafford,  W.  V.  Overland  Monthly,  Ivi, 
October,  1910,  pp.  343-352. 

Sikes,  G.  C.  Survey  of  American  Dock  Development.  Pro- 
ceedings of  Third  National  Conference  on  City  Planning, 
191 1,  pp.  134-146. 

Stephens,  G.  W.,  and  Corvil,  F.  W.  Report  on  British  and 
Continental  Ports  with  a  View  to  the  Development  of  the 
Port  of  Montreal  and  Canadian  Transportation.  Ottawa, 
1908.     95  pp. 

ToMKiNS,  Calvin.  Organization  of  the  Port  of  New  York. 
Proceedings  of  Third  National  Conference  on  City  Plan- 
ning, 191 1,  pp.  147-161. 

Toronto  Harbor  Commissioners.  Toronto  Waterfront  Devel- 
opment,  1912-1920.     Toronto.     32  pp. 

Turner,  W.  Ports,  Ancient  and  ^Modern.  Westminster  Re- 
view, clxxvii.  March,  1912,  pp.  249-259. 


X A VI GABLE  WATERS  263 

United  States.  Department  of  State.  European  Waterways. 
Reports  of  consular  officers  of  the  United  States,  located 
in  Germany,  Austria-Hungary,  France,  Belgium,  and  the 
Netherlands,  on  river  and  harbor  improvements  in  their 
respective  districts.  Washington,  1909.  138  pp.  (Na- 
tional Waterways  Commission.    Doc.  no.  7.) 


CHAPTER   XII 

RAILROADS    AND    INDUSTRIAL   DISTRICTS 

Relation  of  Railroad  Units  to  the  City  Plan 

The  Main  Artery. — The  right  of  way,  concessions,  and 
features  of  development  of  the  steam  railroads  or  the  main 
transportation  routes  are  more  often  sources  of  annoyance 
to  the  planning  engineer,  than  foundations  on  which  a  con- 
structive plan  can  he  erected  with  facility.  Pioneers  as  the 
railroads  were  in  the  development  of  most  communities,  it 
is  small  wonder  that  the  line  of  least  immediate  resistance 
was  followed  to  such  an  extent  that  a  typical  and  homogene- 
ous plan  was  seldom  possible  with  the  full  acceptance  of  the 
steam-railroad  features  as  they  exist.  From  time  to  time, 
however,  betterments  are  instituted  by  the  railroad  compa- 
nies in  the  way  of  new  passenger  stations  and  approaches, 
track  depression  or  elevation  with  incident  grade  crossing 
eliminations,  increased  main-track  facilities  with  possible 
electrification,  and  new  freight  stations  with  bulk  freight 
team  tracks  and  approaches. 

These  features  of  reconstruction  or  improvement  are 
subject  to  the  approval  of  the  municipality,  and  it  is  then 
that  an  intelligent  analysis  by  a  city-planning  board,  with 
its  advisory  experts,  will  safeguard  the  city  plan  in  the 
interest  of  posterity.  This  is  no  reflection  on  the  capacity 
of  the  railroad  staff  of  engineers,  but  it  is  obvious  that 
fundamentally  their  view  of  the  prol)lem  is  limited  to  the 
confines  of  the  railroad  right  of  way  and  immediately  con- 

264 


RAILROADS  AND  INDUSTRIAL  DISTRICTS     265 

tiguous  property,  and  that  their  interest  is  essentially  nar- 
rowed to  that  of  the  cori)oration  they  are  paid  to  serve. 
( )n  the  other  hand,  the  city-planning  board  not  only  com- 
bats the  narrow  view  of  the  railroad  engineers,  but,  what 
is  quite  as  important,  their  study  of  the  problem  and  the 
resulting  plan  will  often  establish  essential  relations  between 
features  of  the  city  plan  and  strictly  railroad  units  which 
may  be  geographically  remote. 

Branches  and  Leads. — The  entrance  of  subsidiary  lines 
or  leads  to  industries  and  special  service  stations  and  to 
junctions  with  the  main  line,  by  still  further  cutting  up  the 
topography,  presents  additional  features  of  rigidity,  the  ac- 
ceptance of  which  limits  the  possibility  in  directions  which 
are  apparent.  While  these  railroad  features  must,  as  a 
rule,  be  acce])tcd  as  they  exist,  not  infrequently  a  radical 
change  is  possible  entirely  in  line  with  ultimate  economy, 
provided  the  plan  is  fully  matured,  and  its  practicability  to 
the  end  of  general  betterment  and  economy  well  established. 
Too  often,  unfortunately,  "curtailment  in  initial  expendi- 
ture" is  confounded  with  "economy."  In  many  instances 
a  seemingly  disproportionate  initial  expense  is  amply  justi- 
fied by  a  proper  economic  analysis. 

Freight  Delivery  Stations. — The  principles  underlying 
parcel  and  bulk-freight  shipment  and  delivery  are  open  to 
continual  discussion.  The  small  community  is  served  by  its 
single  freight  house  and  group  of  team  tracks,  and  team 
haul  to  and  from  this  single  railroad  unit  is  necessary  for 
the  surrounding  territory.  From  this  most  simple  type 
conditions  amplify  to  those  of  great  complexity  in  the 
large  city  with  several  trunk  line  entrances,  and  the  freight- 
deli\ery  features  within  the  community  located  at  intervals 
along  the  several  railroad  thoroughfares.  While  in  the 
larger  communities  served  by  frciglit-delivcry  and  receiv- 
ing stations  the  units  may  be  gc()gra])bically  well  distributed, 
there  is  usuall\'  a  cliaracteristic  rigidit}'  attached  to  the  sys- 


266  CITY  PLANNING 

tern,  in  that  goods  via  any  individual  trunk  line  may  be 
shipped  or  received  at  freight  stations  of  that  line  only. 
Otherwise  a  switching  charge  is  exacted  and  delays  are 
probable.  Tiiere  is,  furthermore,  often  an  added  stipula- 
tion by  the  carrier  company  that  goods  be  further  segre- 
gated by  classification,  so  that  a  merchant  or  manufacturer, 
wherever  located  within  the  community,  is  confronted  with 
the  necessity  of  hauling  the  bulk  of  his  product  to  a  single 
freight  station. 

This  condition  of  affairs  is  natural  and  the  logical  result 
of  competitive  railroad  development.  It  remains,  however, 
for  the  municipality,  through  its  city-planning  board,  to 
incorporate  within  its  plans  for  ultimate  development  the 
means  whereby  the  maximum  flexibility  of  operation  in 
terminal  transportation  shall  be  available  to  the  producer ; 
that  is,  whatever  the  origin  or  destination,  a  merchant  or 
manufacturer  should  receive  and  ship  at  the  freight  station 
zvhich  entails  the  shortest  team  haul.  To  aim  at  this 
achievement  is  the  duty  of  any  board  or  commission  en- 
trusted with  the  preparation  of  a  city  plan.  A  belt-line 
road  either  operative  or  geographical  will  often  solve  the 
problem.  Under  this  condition  goods  to  or  from  any  freight 
station  may  be  routed  direct  via  any  trunk  line,  and  obvi- 
ously the  producer  enjoys  the  shortest  team  haul  from  plant 
to  carrier.  The  agitation  today  in  many  large  centers  is 
primarily  toward  the  achievement  of  this  most  flexible 
condition,  and  to  this  end  many  standing  and  special  boards 
and  committees  are  now  working. 

Industrial  Districts. — A  concrete  definition  of  an  indus- 
trial center  or  development  would  outline  a  productive 
community,  self-contained  from  the  receipt  of  the  raw  ma- 
terial to  the  shipment  of  the  finished  product,  with  common 
interest  among  the  several  producers  as  to  the  elements  of 
general  facilities  covered  by  rentals,  power,  taxes,  insurance, 
and   transportation    facilities.      There   are   many   industrial 


Bl'SH     Tl-.KM  IXAI.     l^I.A.NT.        VlI'W     I'KOM     PiAI.I.OD.N 


RAILROADS  AND  INDUSTRIAL  DISTRICTS     267 

localities  but  few  developments.  One  of  the  best  known 
developments  which  has  expanded  along  predetermined  lines 
is  that  of  the  Bush  Terminal  Company  in  South  Brooklyn, 
New  York.  This  center  is  located  with  ample  pier  facilities 
on  New  York  Harbor,  and  with  rail  entrance  direct  or  indi- 
rect to  all  trunk  lines  entering  the  New  York  City  terminal 
district.  To  a  lesser  degree  industrial  centers  or  manufac- 
ture grouping  with  operating  administration,  power  require- 
ments, and  transportation  features  pooled  are  common  to  all 
larger  communities. 

As  a  rule,  these  industrial  centers  or  districts  must  be 
accepted  by  the  city  planner  as  they  exist.  Manufacturing 
enterprise  is  certainly  to  be  encouraged  for  the  actual  ad- 
vancement of  any  community,  and  in  this  instance,  if  in  no 
other,  the  esthetic  consideration  of  the  plan  should  be  sub- 
servient to  the  practical  requirements  of  manufacturing 
economy. 

CONSTRUCTIVK    PLANNING    BaSED    ON    EXISTING    CONDITIONS 

Extent  to  Which  Acceptance  of  Present  Development  is 
Advisable. — The  transportation  engineer  of  the  city-plan- 
ning board  is  always  confronted  with  two  extreme  alterna- 
tives. He  may  plan  for  the  perfect  conception  on  paper, 
regardless  of  existing  conditions,  or  he  may  accept  present 
conditions  and  build  thereon.  A  sound  analysis  of  the  en- 
tire problem,  with  due  regard  to  the  original  and  acquired 
rights  of  all  parties  at  interest,  will  inevitably  lead  to  a 
course  of  compromise.  It  is  sometimes  advisable  to  follow 
the  line  of  least  resistance,  at  the  sacrifice  of  plan  homo- 
geneity, merely  for  the  sake  of  erring  on  tlic  side  of  im- 
mediate practical)iHly.  Many  good  suggestions  and  features 
of  a  city  plan  fail  of  acceptance  I)i'cause  c-onpled  with  issues 
which,  tliough  nltiniatel}'  desirable,  are  not  essential  to  the 
immediate  and  obvious  betterment. 


268 


CITY  PLAXXIXG 


Considerations  Underlying  Studies  for  the  Future. — It 
should  be  an  accepted  fact  that  plans  are  to  portray  ulti- 
mate development.  The  recommended  layout  should  be 
such  as  to  insure  the  maximum  ultimate  betterment  to  the 
community  at  large.  It  is,  therefore,  incumbent  upon  the 
engineer  to  specify  in  considerable  detail  the  progressive 


steps  necessary  to  the  fulfillment  of  the  ultimate  plan.  In 
this  regard  the  weakness  of  many  plans  is  apparent.  The 
ultimate  layout  may  be  comj)lcte.  but  failure  to  suggest  the 
successive  steps  for  accomplishment  often  leaves  the  plan 
to  be  digested  as  a  whole,  and  its  practicability  is  thereby 
doubly  hard  to  establish. 

However  complete  the  paper  ])lan,  without  the  semblance 


RAILROADS  AND  INDUSTRIAL  DISTRICTS      269 

of  practicability  and  recommended  method  of  approach  and 
attack,  its  nonacceptance  by  the  transportation  interests 
is  virtually  assured.  Studies  for  ultimate  development  are 
obviously  subject  to  an  interpretation  of  the  term  "ulti- 
mate." Without  any  academic  analysis,  however,  the  studies 
for  a  municipal  plan  should  be  worked  out  to  a  practicable 
ideal  for  gradual  realization,  with  the  successive  steps  for 
achievement  well  defined. 

Danger  in  Destructive  Planning. — The  plan  or  incidental 
recommendation  which  calls  for  the  eradication  of  existing 
features  of  the  community  for  the  essential  purpose  of  ar- 
riving at  esthetic  results  is  in  general  to  be  condemned. 
The  commercial  growth  of  any  community  is  positive  and 
along  lines  of  definite  purjwse.  To  recommend  any  change 
in  the  present  state  of  equilibrium  invites  opposition  at  the 
outset.  One  of  the  real  elements  of  success  in  any  plan  is 
that  quality  which  appeals  to  the  actual  producers  of  the 
community.  Schooled  as  they  have  been  in  progress  and 
growth  along  lines  of  true  productive  economy,  they  at 
once  question  any  ])lan  or  recommendation  which  builds  on 
the  wreck  of  existing  city  features. 

Conservatism  and  Practicability. — The  city  plan  which 
appeals  for  its  artistic  symmetry,  the  type  often  exhibited  at 
])]anning  congresses,  is  rarely  practicable.  As  a  rule,  plans 
of  this  type  are  fundamentally  destructive.  The  conserva- 
tive clement  is  almost  wholly  lacking,  and  the  very  bigness 
of  the  conception  is  appalling.  Had  such  a  plan  been  pre- 
pared and  adopted  in  time,  usually  decades  or  a  century 
in  the  past,  the  result  would  have  approached  the  ideal 
state.  The  scat  of  our  Federal  novernment  is  a  notable,  if 
not  the  only  exam])le  of  an  American  city  developing  along 
ibe  lines  of  a  well  worked  out  \)V\n  adojited  in  ample  time. 
Washington,  however,  is  ])reeminently  distinct  in  type  and 
atmosphere,  and  commercialism  has  played  little  part  in  its 
growth. 


270 


RAILROADS  AND  INDUSTRIAL  DISTRICTS      271 

On  rare  occasions  a  wide-spread  conflagration  will  raze 
to  the  ground  a  comjxiratively  large  area  of  a  great  city,  thus 
removing  many  rigid  harriers  to  the  development  of  a  city 
])lan  of  artistic  scope.  At  junctures  of  this  sort  the  city 
plan  along  radically  new  lines  is  agitated.  Drawings  are 
I^repared  and  discussed.  An  opportunity  really  exists.  The 
conservative  element,  however,  usually  predominates,  suffi- 
cient imagination  is  lacking  in  the  minds  of  those  whose 
judgment  is  followed,  and  the  great  American  factor — com- 
mercialism— advocates  reconstruction  along  former  lines, 
and  the  opportunity  is  lost.  Possihly  the  most  notable  ex- 
ami)le  in  recent  years  is  the  city  of  San  Francisco.  This 
leads  to  the  natural  conclusion  that  conservative  practica- 
bility is  the  one  element  most  likely  to  carry  any  plan  to 
acceptance. 

Railroad  Terminals  and  Approaches 

There  is  hardly  an  American  city  of  two  hundred  thou- 
sand population  or  over  that  has  not  been  tiie  subject 
of  more  or  less  extended  study  with  regard  to  the  ultimate 
unification  of  the  operation^  if  not  the  actual  ownership, 
of  its  terminal  steam-railroad  properties.  Tn  rare  instances 
only  have  these  studies  proved  the  basis  of  actual  con- 
solidation, and  in  these  instances  the  interests  at  issue  were 
not  widely  divergent.  The  mere  fact  that  unification 
schemes  are  afoot,  however,  shows  unmistakably  that,  in 
the  minds  of  those  with  motives  entirely  disinterested,  the 
operating  flexibility  wdiich  is  possible  only  in  a  unified 
terminal  j)roperty  is  essential  to  the  attainment  of  terminal 
transjwrtation  facilities  of  the  highest  type. 

( )ne  has  only  to  study  the  growth  and  development  of 
the  several  independent  trunk-line  pro])erties  in  any  single 
comnmnity  to  observe  that  the  inevita])le  and  natural  trend 
is  towards  joint  control  and  operation.     The  joining  of  two 


272 


CITY  PLANNING 


or  more  railroad  properties  is  usually  coupled  with  the 
actual  pooling  of  terminal  interests  of  the  hitherto  compet- 
ing lines,  together  with  the  consolidation  of  operating  and 
traffic  units,  from  which  follow  increased  operating  economy 


'l 

i> 

c        " 

c         c 

it> 

^                     B 

f> 

I'>l 

1 

I 

,:i 

B 

} 

1 

B          t 

C              C 

J         £> 
C 

\ m\ 

\    1 

J  ,, 

Plan  View  of  the  Mammoth  U-shai'ed  Factory  Buildings,  Bush 
Terminal 

Showing  how  the  elevators  A  communicate  with  the  loading  platforms 
B.  The  freight  trains  D  can  enter  the  enclosure  and  reach  all 
parts  of  the  building  ])y  means  of  the  tracks  C.  There  are  fre- 
quent switchings  and  sidings  to  facilitate  rapid  handling  of  the 
cars. 


and  added  flexibility  of  terminal  operation.  The  features 
of  the  consolidation,  however,  are  naturally  confined  to  those 
properties  under  joint  ownership  or  control.  Where  for- 
merly there  may  have  been  twelve  or  fifleen  coin])eliiig  trunk 


RAILROADS  AND  INDUSTRIAL  DISTRICTS      273 

lines  with  their  respective  and  varied  tenninal  faciHties, 
the  natural  law  of  eflfective  consolidation  to  achieve  ulti- 
mate operating  economy  has  reduced  this  total  to  three 
or  four  independent  trunk-line  interests. 

Any  further  consolidation  on  the  initiative  of  the  rail- 
roads thcnisclves  is  unlikely.  The  state  of  cquilihrium 
among  tiie  few  remaining  large  railroad  interests  is  well 
estahlished,  and  the  actual  features  of  reconstruction  result- 
ing from  the  successive  consolidations  are  more  or  less 
modern  and  up-to-date.  The  investment  represented  in 
the  terminal  jiropertics  is  enormous,  and  this  very  size  offers 
to  the  proposition  of  further  unification  an  inertia  difficult  in 
itself  to  overcome.  In  recent  years  federal  and  state  legisla- 
tion, actual  or  imj)lied,  has  not  heen  such  as  to  invite  fur- 
ther consolidation  among  the  railroad  interests. 

In  spite  of  this  fact,  however,  it  requires  little  foresight  to 
predict  ultimate  complete  unification  of  terminal  proper- 
ties into  a  terminal  district  transportation  system  which 
shall  offer  the  maximum  of  operating  flexibility  to  the  pub- 
lic. Whether  the  further  successive  steps  for  complete 
unification  are  possible  without  state  or  federal  ownership 
is  doubtful.  At  all  events,  it  is  manifest  that  public  inter- 
est through  city-planning  or  other  boards  or  commissions 
must  initiate  further  action  or  deliberation  toward  the 
accomplishment  of  the  desired  ultimate  result.  Those  ad- 
herents to  the  slogan  "Competition  is  the  life  of  trade!" 
would  seem  to  be  a  drawback  to  true  economic  progress 
wlien  they  exert  their  influence  as  regards  the  trade  of 
carrying  and  distributing  goods  and  passengers  within 
any  mctro])()Hlan  district.  More  tlian  any  other  single  fact 
that  has  stood  in  the  way  of  stiH  further  consolidation 
within  terminal  districts  is  that  inlicrcnt  distrust  of  cor- 
])orations  Ity  the  average  citizen.  It  is  small  wonder  that 
this  distrust  or  fear  of  the  "nigger  in  the  woodpile"  has 
reflected  to  and  through  our  lawmakers,  and  that  thereby 


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274 


RAILROADS  AND  IXDUSTRIAL  DISTRICTS      275 

many  really  constructive  plans  for  terminal  railway  consoli- 
dation and  betterment  have  been   blocked. 


In'dustkial  Districts 

Among  other  important  requirements  for  a  factory  site 
which  shall  offer  characteristics  for  minimum  production 
costs,  is  that  of  the  transportation  of  the  raw  material  and 
of  the  finished  product.  With  a  narrow  or  limited  market, 
as  in  the  case  of  distinct  specialties,  this  factor  may  be  less 
important,  but  as  a  rule,  the  producer  should  be  offered 
facilities  which  make  possible  the  rail  routing  from  his  ship- 
ping platform  to  any  destination,  without  delays  or  a  multi- 
tude of  switching  or  interchange  charges  to  be  borne  by 
him.  If  it  possesses  these  advantages,  and  if  in  addition 
the  industrial  site  is  located  on  tidewater,  where  direct 
shii)ment  is  ])ossible  by  boat  as  well  as  I)y  rail,  it  may  then 
be  said  that  the  transportation  advantages  leave  little  to  be 
desired. 

The  characteristic  of  transportation  flexibility,  or  the 
])0ssibility  of  routing  direct  7'ia  any  trunk  line,  with  assured 
dispatch  of  movement,  is  well  appreciated  by  all  who  have 
gi\en  the  question  any  study.  In  connection  with  belt-line, 
interchange,  or  connecting  railroads  wliicli  circle  the  com- 
munity to  a  greater  or  lesser  extent,  cutting  all  entering 
trunk-line  roads,  the  location  of  the  i)roposed  industrial 
district  is  not  difficult.  Locilion  along  a  beU-line  ro;id  usu- 
ally offers  the  finnher  advantage  of  great  latitude  in  choice 
as  to  the  topography  where  a  suitable  tract  is  a\ailable  at 
cheap  land   values. 

The  unencunil)ered  tract  offers  the  greatest  scope  for  the 
design  and  laxout  of  tlie  jiropo-^ed  distriii.  Alliiough  the 
initial  stage  of  the  dexelopnicnl  may  be  modest,  the  j)lan 
should  be  worlxi'd  oiU  and  sutticient  land  ])UI■cha^e(l  or  con- 


276  CITY  PLANNING 

trolled  to  cover  the  ultimate  development  probable.  The 
layout  of  the  factory  buildings  with  power  house,  railroad 
tracks  and  storage  yard,  team  thoroughfares,  etc.,  is  merely 
a  part  of  the  problem.  The  town  features  necessary  to  a 
happy  and  contented  life  for  the  operatives  is  an  allied 
problem,  quite  as  important. 

Throughout  the  country,  in  various  communities,  there 
have  been  prepared,  from  time  to  time,  by  industrial  or 
other  commissions,  plans  for  industrial  districts.  In  some 
instances  these  plans  have  matured  into  working  enterprises 
which  have  materially  advanced  the  commercial  standing  of 
the  community.  In  other  instances,  however,  which  prob- 
ably predominate,  there  is  no  concrete  result.  In  these 
latter  instances  the  need  is  not  apparent  to  the  producer, 
and  the  inertia  to  be  overcome  in  reestablishing  an  active 
manufacturing  plant  in  a  new  location  and  under  different 
and,  in  a  measure,  unknown  conditions  is  naturally  great. 
The  average  manufacturer — not  the  great  manufacturing 
corporation — is  the  one  to  be  attracted  by  the  advantages  of 
an  industrial  district.  The  great  corporation  usually  en- 
joys, on  account  of  the  magnitude  of  the  plant,  the  very 
advantages  which  it  is  the  purpose  of  the  industrial  district 
to  offer  to  the  average  producer. 


The  Imperative  Need  of  Growing  Plans 

The  general  trend  of  development  in  the  past,  for  the 
city  units  themselves  as  well  as  for  the  features  of  the 
trunk-line  terminal  systems,  and  those  of  manufacturing  en- 
terprises, has  followed  the  obvious  and  most  simple  line  of 
extension,  irrespective  of  any  possible  correlation  between 
the  interests  enumerated,  or  with  other  features  of  the  city 
plan.  In  the  ordinary  course  of  events,  and  in  due  course 
of  time,  one  or  another  of  the  important  features  of  the 


RAILROADS  AND  INDUSTRIAL  DISTRICTS      277 

community  has  been  l)locke(l  for  further  extension,  not 
on  account  of  the  lack  of  natural  foresight,  but  because 
its  relation  to  other  units  of  the  plan  was  not  predetermined. 
A  city  plan  advanced  by  public-spirited  interest,  with  all 
features  of  the  existing  plan  given  due  weight  in  the  ratio 
of  their  relative  importance,  should  be  worked  out  for 
every  community.  Such  a  plan  cannot  be  matured  on  order 
but  should  be  under  way  and  tentatively  approved.  The 
plan  will  serve  as  the  basis  for  the  analysis  of  any  new 
enterprise  suggested  for  the  attention  of  the  planning  board. 
From  time  to  time  the  plan  will  be  modified  and  im])roved 
as  added  facts  become  available.  Any  plan  worthy  of  due 
consideration  must  be  subject  to  modification,  and  a  plan  ac- 
cepted on  this  basis  will  in  time  become  a  true  scale  for  the 
measurement  of  new  propositions  incident  to  the  ultimate 
betterment  and  welfare  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  com- 
munity. 

Bibliography 

Cohen,  Julius  B.,  and  Ruston,  Arthur  G.  Smoke:  a  Study 
of  Town  Air.     London,   1912.     88  pp. 

Delano,  F.  A.  Railway  Terminals  and  Their  Relation  to  City 
Planning.  Engineering  Record,  Ix,  December  18,  1909,  pp. 
683-686. 

Droege,  J.  A.  Freight  Terminals  and  Trains;  Including  a  Re- 
vision of  Yards  and  Terminals.     New  York,  1912.     465  pp. 

Lewis,  N.  P.,  and  others.  Circulation  of  Passengers  and 
Freight  in  Its  Relation  to  the  City  Plan.  Proceedings  of 
Second  National  Conference  on  City  Planning  and  the 
Problems  of  Congestion,  1910,  pp.  1 13-152.  Contains  pa- 
pers by  N.  P.  Lewis,  H.  C.  Wright,  Calvin  Tomkins, 
G.  R.  Waijsworth,  John  Nolen,  and  Syia'kster  Baxter. 

Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology.  Flectrical  iMigincering 
Department.  Tlie  bxonomical  Transportation  of  Merchan- 
dise in  Metropolitan  Districts.  I'eJiicle  Research  Bulletin, 
No.    I.     P.oston,    [912.     44   pp. 


278  CITY  PLANNING 

Seattle,  Wash.  Public  Ownership  of  Docks  and  Railway  Ter- 
minal Facilities  Means  the  Industrial  and  Commercial 
Supremacy  of  the  City  of  Seattle,  by  Robert  Bridges. 
Seattle,  1912.    16  pp. 

ToMKiNS,  Calvin.  Seaport  Congestion  and  Its  Relation  to 
Transportation  and  Terminal  Facilities.  Proceedings  of 
Second  National  Conference  on  City  Planning  and  the 
Problems  of  Congestion,  1910,  pp.  136-139. 


CHAPTER    XIII 
MAIN    THOROUGHFARES    AND    STREET    RAILWAYS 

Influence  and  Importance  of  Transportation 

One  of  the  largest  problems  with  which  the  modern  city 
has  to  deal,  and  one  which  ,is  proving  most  complicated  and 
costly  wherever  efforts  are  being  made  to  find  a  solution 
for  it,  is  that  of  transportation  in  its  various  forms ;  for 
just  as  transportation  has  been  the  chief  agency  in  promot- 
ing progress  and  creating  wealth  throughout  the  industrial 
world,  so  has  it  been  the  chief  agency  in  the  growth  of 
cities,  and  so  will  it  be  the  chief  agency  in  determining 
whether  the  city  of  the  future  shall  mark  the  zenith  of 
man's  triumph  in  constructive  art  and  science  or  prove  his 
inability  to  administer  successfully  the  functions  necessary 
to  the  perfect  development  of  the  huge  organisms  his  own 
masterful  energy  has  created. 

The  marvelous  commercial  and  industrial  progress  of  the 
past  century  has  been  made  possible  only  by  the  creation 
and  aggressive  development  of  great  transportation  systems 
reaching  every  corner  of  the  globe ;  men  still  living  have 
witnessed  or  played  an  active  part  in  the  achievement  of 
the  greatest  triumphs  of  these  enterprises ;  they  have  seen 
llic  stagecoach  and  the  wagon  train  give  way  to  vast  rail- 
road systems  and  have  seen  the  sailing  vessel  superseded  by 
great  steamship  lines.  W^e  have  only  to  compare  the  little 
steanil)()at  in  which  Fulton  sailed  the  Hudson  with  the 
great  modern   steamship,  or  Stc])henson"s   first  locomotive 

279 


28o  CITY  PLANNING 

with  ikose  which  now  pull  our  limited  expresses  and  fast 
freights,  to  appreciate  the  progress  of  the  past  hundred 
years.  If.  then,  we  reduce  transportation  to  its  simplest 
and  most  comprehensive  term,  the  "act  of  conveying,"  and 
consider  that  it  embraces  even.'  act  and  agency  by  which 
any  object  or  substance  is  moved  from  place  to  place,  and 
that  all  the  mediums  of  conveyance  have  undergone  the 
same  rapid  process  of  evolution  as  the  railroad  and  the 
steamship,  we  obtain  a  grasp  of  the  meaning  of  transporta- 
tion and  of  its  influence  and  importance  in  the  economy 
of  cit\-  building  as  well  as  of  world  building. 

If  we  look  for  the  force  behind  the  progress  and  de- 
velopment of  transportation,  we  almost  in\-ariably  find  it 
in  private  energy-  and  private  capital :  the  public  has  been 
prone  to  scoff,  and  sometimes  to  sneer,  but  seldom  to  aid 
or  encourage  the  men  who  conducted  the  first  experiments 
for  the  application  of  steam  and  electricity  to  practical 
uses:  yet  without  these  two  forms  of  potential  energ\'. 
industry-  and  trade  would  be  little  more  than  local  activities 
circumscribed  and  limited  by  eighteenth-century  conditions. 

While  private  energy-  and  private  capital  were  being  put 
into  the  aggressive  promotion  of  inventions  and  enterprises 
which  were  giving  an  ever-increasing  impetus  to  constructive 
progress,  the  conser^-atism  and  pen.'ersity  of  public  senti- 
ment tended  to  discourage,  if  it  did  not  actually  and  vio- 
lently oppose,  such  innovations  as  steam  or  electrically 
driven  machinen,-,  the  introduction  of  gas  as  an  illuminant, 
the  installation  of  street  railways  and  the  later  substitution 
of  electric  power  for  horses  in  their  operation,  and  the  use 
of  other  apph'ances  of  constructive  progress.  While  private 
enterpri-e  spread  a  network  of  iron  rails  across  the  land, 
created  trade  routes  across  the  seas,  and  contributed  to  the 
growth  of  great  citie-  about  their  terminals  and  harbors 
and  where  important  routes  met  or  crossed,  public  enter- 
prise, -uj^on  the  spirit  of  which  the  physical  form  and  char- 


THOROUGHFARES  AND  STREET  RAILWAYS     281 

acter  of  the  cities  depended,  felt  no  inspiration  and  took  no 
heed  of  the  future,  but  permitted  the  cities  to  grow  in  what- 
ever haphazard  or  aimless  manner  the  immediate  needs  of 
the  moment  seemed  to  dictate.  The  same  spirit  of  con- 
servatism, together  with  the  apparent  impossibility  of  estab- 
lishing continuing  policies  or  obtaining  sympathetic  coopera- 
tion, still  continues  to  obstruct  the  vision,  fetter  the  energ\-, 
and  tighten  the  purse  strings  of  the  public  whenever  a 
project  of  any  magnitude  outside  the  ordinary  routine,  no 
matter  what  its  merits  may  be.  is  put  forward  as  a  public 
enterprise. 

It  is  not  at  all  surprising  that  the  needs  of  modem  trans- 
portation were  not  provided  for  in  the  early  planning  of 
the  cities  that  have  grown,  or  are  ambitiously  growing,  to 
metropolitan  proportions,  for  if  those  needs  could  have 
been  accurately  foretold  to  the  town  planners  of  only  half 
a  century  ago  the  daring  prophet  would  have  been  con- 
sidered a  dreamer  and  a  visionan.^ :  but  it  is  surprising,  as 
well  as  something  in  the  nature  of  a  rejection  upon  the 
genius,  courage,  and  aggressiveness  of  that  American  en- 
terprise and  energy  of  which  we  are  prone  to  boast,  that 
more  active  and  systematic  measures  have  not  been  taken 
in  recent  years  to  provide  convenient  and  adequate  chan- 
nels for  the  ilow  of  those  vast  activities  wliich  have  built 
up  great  cities. 

W'h.ile  every  form  of  transportation  is  called  to  tlie  service 
oi  the  city,  those  forms  wb.ioh  represent  tr.e  daily  How  of 
traffic  through  th.e  public  liigliways.  and  particularly  the 
street  railways  or  other  mediums  of  public  travel,  come 
most  closely  in  touch  with  tr.e  masses  of  tl-.e  people,  and 
the  extent  to  which  they  serve  and  satisfy  tiie  public  need 
is  usually  a  fair  index  of  the  progress  and  enterprise  of  t'ne 
conimunitv. 


282  CITY  PLANNING 


The  Street  Railway  and  Its  Service  to  the  Public 

Most  cities  quarrel  more  or  less  constantly  and  more  or 
less  violently  with  their  street-railway  service,  and  the 
traveling  public  almost  invariably  places  all  the  blame  for 
defective  and  inadequate  service  upon  the  operating  com- 
pany. The  riders  seldom  look  beyond  their  own  personal 
and  immediate  convenience  and  the  vision  of  the  operating 
company  seems  to  be  too  often  limited  to  the  easiest  and 
quickest  way  of  producing  profits;  neither  of  the  parties 
to  the  quarrel  seems  to  realize,  or  cares  to  admit,  the  extent 
to  which  each  is  dependent  upon  the  other  in  their  everyday 
relations,  and  that  cooperation  could  be  made  to  accomplish 
much  common  good  where  contention  must  meet  with  in- 
different success,  if  not  with  total  failure,  as  a  means  of 
harmonizing  their  differences. 

No  more  convincing  evidence  can  be  had  of  the  vital 
importance  of  street-railway  service  in  the  economy  of 
urban  growth  than  the  insistent  demand  for  "rapid  transit" 
heard  in  every  community,  and  yet  it  is  probable  that  no 
enterprise  which  comes  anywhere  near  so  closely  in  touch 
with  the  masses  of  the  people  has  received  so  little  atten- 
tion from  their  official  representatives — at  least  until  quite 
recent  years — as  the  street-railway  system.  This  is  due 
in  a  large  measure  to  the  fact  that,  while  the  street  railway 
has  been  a  great  benefit  and  convenience  to  the  public, 
it  has  been  financed  and  managed  as  a  private  enterprise, 
and  its  service  to  the  public  has  been  made  to  too  great  an 
extent  subordinate  to  its  ability  to  pay  dividends. 

The  street  railway,  like  its  big  brother  the  steam  railroad, 
has  possessed  certain  get-rich-quick  features  in  its  methods 
of  both  finance  and  operation,  but  these  features  are  being 
gradually  eliminated  as  the  public  comes  to  a  clearer  under- 
standing of  the  fact  that  railroads  are  no  longer  luxuries  or 


THOROUGHFARES  AND  STREET  RAILWAYS    283 

mere  conveniences,  but  have  become  necessities  and  must 
be  controlled  and  operated  in  the  interest  of  the  public  serv- 
ice rather  than  for  private  gain.  The  operating  companies 
also  realize  that  a  new  deal  is  in  progress  and  that  better 
service  must  be  given.  Unwilling  to  abandon  without  a 
struggle  the  methods  they  have  heretofore  employed,  they 
protest  against  making  needed  extensions  to  their  systems, 
and  in  some  cities  are  forcing  the  building  of  extensions 
and  new  lines  at  public  expense,  a  policy  which  must  re- 
sult in  public  ownership  and  management  and  the  driving 
of  private  capital  out  of  the  street-railway  business  unless 
it  becomes  willing  to  accept  the  reasonable  profits  which 
seem  to  satisfy  the  legitimate  investors  and  holders  of  cor- 
poration securities. 

But  whether  the  street-railway  business  drifts  into  public 
ownership  and  operation,  or  whether  private  capital  takes 
a  saner  view  of  what  constitutes  fair  earnings  and  con- 
tinues in  control,  thoroughly  efficient  and  satisfactory  serv- 
ice can  only  be  given  to  all  parts  of  a  community  by  a 
well-distributed  and  a  well-coordinated  system  which  shall 
provide  the  most  direct  and  speedy  routes  not  only  be- 
tween existing  important  business  and  residential  centers, 
but  to  and  from  points  and  through  sections  which  need 
the  aid  and  encouragement  of  good  transportation  facilities 
for  their  development  into  equally  important  centers.  Such 
a  system  can  be  created  only  where  the  system  of  main 
thoroughfares,  forming  the  routes  which  must  be  used  by 
general  traffic,  is  established  with  the  i)rimary  view  of 
providing  adequate  facilities  for  transportation. 

Paradoxical  as  it  may  seem,  the  concentration  and  con- 
gestion which  have  characterized  the  growth  of  our  big 
cities  (luring  the  past  thirty  years  have  been  both  a  cause 
an<l  an  effcit  of  the  centralization  of  lines  of  transporta- 
tion. This  concentration  and  congestion  bcncfU  a  conipara- 
ti\ely    limited    nunil)er    of    peoj^le    who    own    and    control 


284  CITY  PLANNING 

the  property  and  business  within  narrow  zones,  and  work 
to  the  disadvantage  of  all  other  people  and  all  other  parts 
of  the  community;  it  makes  the  whole  community  con- 
tribute to  a  favored  few  in  specially  favored  localities. 
Yet  wherever,  in  American  cities,  we  find  rapid-transit 
lines  in  service,  or  great  projects  for  the  construction  of 
such  lines,  we  find  them  designed  to  feed  the  one  great 
center;  we  even  find  that  where  private  capital  shrinks 
from  assuming  the  cost  and  the  risk  of  further  catering  to 
the  special  interests  of  this  center,  the  public  is  called  upon 
to  pay  the  bills,  and  it  seems  not  only  willing  but  eager 
to  comply. 

The  lower  end  of  Manhattan  Island  and  the  Loop  dis- 
trict of  Chicago  represent  the  maximum  intensity  of  con- 
centration yet  produced  by  the  intensive  centralization  of 
traffic,  and  b.oth  illustrate  the  dominance  of  the  interests 
of  the  few  over  the  interests  of  the  millions.  In  the  one 
case  5,000,000  and  in  the  other  2,500,000  people  are  driven 
to  contribute,  directly  or  indirectly,  to  a  single  abnormally 
developed  center,  because  neither  has  an  adequate  system  of 
main  thoroughfares ;  and  each  has  a  street-railway  system 
routed  for  the  benefit  of  the  interests  controlling  the  central 
area.  In  both,  however,  dissatisfaction  with  the  existing 
conditions  has  been  increasing  rapidly  in  recent  years,  and 
official  and  citizen  organizations  are  cooperating  in  efforts 
to  obtain  a  new  deal,  in  which  there  are  an  apparent  desire 
and  determination  to  get  out  of  the  ruts  of  habit  and  tra- 
dition and  carry  through  vast  civic  undertakings  in  the 
interest  and  for  the  benefit  of  all  the  people. 

In  almost  every  city  where  systematic  studies  and  specific 
recommendations  for  the  improvement  of  transportation 
facilities  have  been  made,  the  first  discovery  has  been  that 
the  street-railway  system  is  poorly  planned  and  will  not 
permit  of  such  a  routing  of  the  railway  lines  as  is  neces- 
sary  for  thoroughly  good  service.     These  conditions   are 


THOROUGHFARES  AND  STREET  RAILWAYS     285 

found  in  their  most  aggravated  forms  in  the  central  areas 
toward  which  all  lines  converge.  The  only  really  efficient 
remedy,  and  the  one  invariably  suggested,  is  the  widening 
or  opening  of  streets,  but,  as  this  involves  heavy  expense 
and  the  destruction  of  much  property,  it  is  seldom  applied, 
and  various  makeshifts  are  resorted  to,  which  in  many 
cases  not  only  lead  to  worse  conditions  but  make  it  more 
difficult  and  costly  to  provide  any  practical  or  permanent 
relief.  When  the  city  reaches  metropolitan  proportions 
and  the  concentration  and  congestion  become  intolerable, 
the  subway  is  resorted  to,  and  vast  sums  are  spent  for 
the  most  costly,  inconvenient,  unhygienic,  and  limited  kind 
of  street-railway  service,  which,  at  best,  only  takes  care  of 
the  natural  increase  of  street-railway  traffic  and  increases 
rather  than  decreases  the  evils  of  concentration  and  conges- 
tion and  the  difficulties  of  other  kinds  of  traffic. 

The  popular  conception  of  rapid  transit  as  seen  by  the 
public  at  present  seems  to  embrace  subways  only,  not- 
withstanding the  fact  that  they  represent  the  highest  in- 
itial cost  and  some  transportation  experts  have  said  that 
no  city  can  afford  to  build  them.  The  rapid  and  continued 
growth  of  cities  undoubtedly  requires  the  adoption  of 
street-railway  systems  of  greater  speed  of  operation  and 
passenger-carrying  capacity,  and  the  construction  and  opera- 
tion of  such  systems  upon  the  street  surface  are  not  prac- 
tical. But  it  must  not  be  assumed  that  the  popular  demand 
for  suljways  marks  the  limits  of  the  usefulness  or  the 
development  of  the  surface  line,  for  if  the  institution  known 
as  the  American  liomc  is  to  be  ])crpeUiated,  there  must 
be  a  more  uniform  distril)Ution  of  street-railway  service 
than  can  be  accomjilishcd  by  rapid-transit  subway  and  ele- 
vated b'nes  alone.  It  is  ])r()])al)le  that  tlie  cost  of  the  lattcf 
will  limit  tlicir  ])r()(ita1)le  use  to  trunk-line  service;  and 
this  would  result  in  a  concentration  of  ])opulation  and  busi- 
ness along  them  which   would  tend  to   perpetuate  and   in- 


286  CITY  PLANNING 

tensify  the  very  evils  which  good  transportation  facilities 
should  discourage.  If  these  high-speed  lines  are  fully  to 
justify  their  existence,  they  must  be  made  to  serve  a  much 
larger  area  than  that  within  the  comparatively  narrow  zone 
lying  immediately  adjacent  to  them,  and  their  greatest  and 
truest  usefulness  to  the  cause  of  economic  community  de- 
velopment will  come  through  their  operation  as  express 
lines  feeding,  and  being  fed  by,  the  surface  system,  both  in 
residential  and  in  business  sections. 

While  it  was  not  possible,  in  years  gone  past,  to  foresee 
the  present  need  for  high-speed  service,  we  now  know 
that  the  demand  for  such  service  is  going  to  increase  much 
more  rapidly  than  it  can  be  supplied,  unless  ways  and 
means  are  found  for  providing  it  at  much  less  cost  for 
construction,  operation,  and  maintenance  than  is  possible 
at  present.  In  the  exhaustive  report  recently  made  upon 
a  rapid-transit  system  for  Philadelphia,  the  Transit  Commis- 
sioner says  that  "where  feasible,  all  streets  in  outlying 
districts  shown  as  needed  for  future  rapid-transit  lines, 
should  be  widened  to  provide  the  best  locations  therefor; 
that  all  real  estate  which  will  be  needed  by  the  city  in  the 
near  future  for  the  development  of  rapid-transit  facilities 
and  which  is  likely  to  be  improved  by  the  construction  of 
expensive  structures  thereon,  should  be  secured  without 
delay  and  that  due  regard  be  given  to  the  proper  develop- 
ment of  transit  facilities  in  future  city  planning."  In  dis- 
cussing the  future  rapid-transit  lines  other  than  those  im- 
mediately recommended,  he  says :  "In  many  cases  the  exact 
routes  are  dependent  upon  the  location,  widening,  or  change 
of  grade  of  certain  streets,  the  building  of  new  bridges  or 
viaducts,  and  in  all  cases  such  future  development  should 
go  hand  in  hand  with  comprehensive  city  planning."  Here, 
then,  is  exjX'rt  testimony  and  advice  from  one  who  has 
wrestled  long  and  earnestly  with  a  system  of  narrow  check- 
erboard streets  in  an  effort  to  find  routes  for  rapid-transit 


THOROUGHFARES  AND  STREET  RAH^WAYS     287 

lines  which  would  give  the  service  needed  with  a  capital 
outlay  such  as  a  city  or  an  operating  company  might  rea- 
sonably be  expected  to  make  and  obtain  fair  profit. 

The  construction  of  subways  is  admitted  to  be  necessary 
in  congested  city  centers  and  in  certain  streets  which  have 
a  claim,  either  real  or  sentimental,  to  some  special  dig- 
nity and  distinction,  but  rapid-transit  experts  generally  agree 
that  the  cost  is  too  great  to  permit  of  the  construction  of 
complete  underground  systems,  and  that  other  methods  of 
construction  must  be  adopted  if  rapid-transit  service  is  to 
be  provided  for  all  parts  of  the  city.  The  only  substitute 
for  the  subway  which  has  been  used  to  any  great  extent 
is  the  elevated,  and  this  is  always  violently  opposed  by  the 
owners  of  property  abutting  on  the  street  occupied  by  it ; 
the  open-cut  subway  has  been  used  only  to  a  limited  ex- 
tent. 

Subway  or  elevated  lines  and  surface  lines  almost  in- 
variably parallel  each  other,  and  the  strict  differentiation  of 
their  service,  one  being  express  and  the  other  local,  with  a 
proper  coordination  of  the  entire  system,  would  result  in 
the  establishment  of  numerous  centers  of  more  or  less 
importance  at  express  stations,  and  particularly  at  the  in- 
tersections of  express  lines,  while  the  surface  lines,  operat- 
ing through  streets  planned  to  provide  the  best  possible 
facilities  for  such  service,  would  encourage  the  uniform 
development  of  the  areas  lying  between  the  express  lines. 
Such  a  system  would  reach  its  greatest  efficiency  in  the 
event  of  the  adoption  of  regulations  limiting  the  heights  of 
buildings  and  the  occupancy  and  use  of  land. 

The  slow  time  of  surface  cars  has  always  been  the  sub- 
ject of  complaint,  and  the  oj)erating  companies  have  not 
always  been  at  fault.  In  the  absence  of  wide,  direct  high- 
ways, routes  wind  with  many  turns  through  streets  so  nar- 
row that  every  crossing  must  be  approached  with  caution, 
crossing  stops  are  close  together,  slow-moving  vehicles  ob- 


2.9«  CITY  PLANNING 

struct  the  tracks,  and  time  is  lost  in  rounding  many  curves. 
Formerly  the  car  stopped  wherever  hailed  by  a  pJissenger, 
later  it  stopped  only  on  the  far  side  of  intersecting  streets, 
now  it  stops  only  on  the  near  side  of  the  more  important 
streets,  and  sometime  it  will  be  customary  to  stop  only 
at  certain  designated  points  as  is  the  custom  in  most  Euro- 
pean and  some  American  cities.  The  public  is  gradually 
being  educated  to  help  improve  the  service,  and  much 
greater  improvement  would  be  encouraged  by  the  more  in- 
telligent planning  of  streets.  Direct  routes,  less  overlapping 
of  lines,  more  transfer  points  and  longer  distances  between 
stops  will  sometime  be  appreciated.  Time  schedules  have 
greatly  improved,  and  could  be  further  reduced  if  surface 
lines  could  be  given  rights  of  way  protected  from  obstruc- 
tion by  other  traffic  and  with  fewer  crossings  of  intersecting 
streets.  Streets  of  uniform  width,  at  uniform  distances 
apart,  are  largely  a  habit*  of  perfunctory  planning,  and,  if 
there  were  a  pronounced  differentiation  between  main  thor- 
oughfares intended  for  traffic  carriers  and  secondary  or  in- 
termediate ones  intended  for  local  development,  the  necessity 
for  very  frequent  crossings  would  not  exist.  Wide  traffic 
streets  would  afford  a  better  view  of  vehicles  approaching 
from  intersecting  streets  and  good  speed  could  be  safely 
maintained  where  stopping  points  were  a  considerable  dis- 
tance apart  even  though  frequent  crossings  existed.  This 
would  also  apply  to  motor  vehicles,  and  as  no  part  of  a 
properly  coordinated  system  of  main  thoroughfares  would 
be  likely  to  be  seriously  congested,  the  movement  of  every 
kind  of  traffic  would  be  greatly  expedited. 

The  suggestion  has  been  made  that  in  wide  streets  the 
railway  tracks  be  not  placed  in  the  center  but  in  such  loca- 
tion on  each  side  that  there  will  be  space  for  slow-moving 
vehicles  between  the  track  and  the  curb,  and  a  space  for 
fast-moving  vehicles  in  the  center  l)etwecn  tracks.  The 
merit  claimed  for  this  arrangement  is  that  people  aj^proach- 


THOROUGHFARES  AND  STREET  RAILWAYS     289 

mg  or  leaving  the  car  are  not  required  to  cross  the  lines  of 
fast  vehicles,  and  the  latter  are  less  restricted  in  their  move- 
ments. The  successful  working  out  of  the  scheme  would 
depend  upon  the  extent  to  which  the  two  classes  of  vehicles 
respected  each  other's  rights  and  territory  or  were  con- 
trolled by  traffic  regulations. 

The  history  of  ra])id  transit  in  America  is  a  history  of 
intensive  crowding,  and  this  history  will  continue  to  repeat 
itself  as  long  as  subways  are  built  one  beneath  another, 
or  one  paralleling  another,  and  all  aiming  toward  a  common 
center.  Such  rapid-transit  lines,  serving  passenger  traffic 
only,  must  inevitably  transport  great  masses  of  people  from 
many  outlying  parts  of  the  city  to  the  central  area,  and  there 
create  an  immense  and  constantly  augmented  day  popula- 
tion for  the  comfort,  convenience  and  business  needs  of 
which  no  increased  or  improved  facilities  for  circulation 
within  the  central  area  itself  are  provided. 

Thoroughly  economic  and  satisfactory  transportation  fa- 
cilities will  not  be  provided  in  any  city  until  the  street- 
planning  and  street-railway  authorities  work  in  cooperation 
in  planning  extensions  and  improvements.  Some  difference 
of  opinion  exists  among  city  planners  as  to  which  is  of 
greater  importance,  the  street  or  the  railway,  but  it  does 
not  seem  that  any  city  would  make  much  progress  if  it  did 
not  have  both,  and  as  both  are  undoubtedly  essential  they 
should  be  considered  as  directly  related  and  interdependent 
in  any  scheme  of  town  planning.  Street  systems  have  ex- 
])anded  more  or  less  arbitrarily  without  any  consideration 
of  their  ]:)ractical  availability  for  purposes  of  general  trans- 
portation, and  the  rapid-transit  engineers  are  everywhere 
confronted  with  extraordinarily  complex  and  costly  work 
in  providing  the  transportation  service  now  demanded  by 
the  |)ublic. 

Subways,  with  all  their  evil  influences,  are  aj)i)arently 
necessary  for  the  service  of  cities  which  have  not  provided 


290  CITY  PLANNING 

an  adequate  system  of  main  thoroughfares  for  traffic  pur- 
poses, but  those  cities  which  are  ambitious  for  future  metro- 
poHtan  greatness  should  establish  a  thoroughly  coordinated 
system  of  such  thoroughfares,  not  only  through  new  areas 
to  be  developed  but  through  areas  already  built  up,  and 
they  should  be  planned  with  the  view  of  providing  efficient, 
economic,  and  abundant  street-railway  service  without  the 
necessity,  except  in  isolated  instances,  of  burrowing  into 
subterranean  passages. 


General  Layout  of  Main  Thoroughfares 

In  very  few  instances  has  the  selection  of  the  site  of  a 
city  which  has  grown  to  real  greatness,  or  even  to  large  im- 
portance, been  the  result  of  chance  or  accident ;  the  location 
has  almost  invariably  possessed  certain  advantages  which 
appealed  to  the  founder  as  requisite  for  the  successful  prose- 
cution of  some  particular  enterprise,  but  his  plan  seldom 
went  beyond  such  needs  as  lay  within  the  scope  of  his  im- 
mediate purpose,  and  extension  beyond  such  needs  became 
subject  to  the  wishes  or  whims  of  his  successors.  Conse- 
quently, the  original  street  layout  of  most  cities  is  entirely 
inadequate  for  metropolitan  uses.  Once  established,  how- 
ever, the  street  becomes  the  most  permanent  fixture  of  the 
city.  In  the  course  of  time  every  structure  in  the  city  is 
altered,  enlarged  or  entirely  reconstructed,  but  it  is  seldom 
that  the  street  undergoes  any  change  in  location  or  width, 
although  greater  burdens  of  service  are  constantly  placed 
upon  it. 

Although  the  very  first  act  in  building  a  city  is  to  lay  out 
some  kind  of  a  street  system,  and  although  a  good  street 
system  is  of  first  importance  to  healthy  and  economic 
growth,  its  establishment  has  not  heretofore  been  presumed 
to  involve  anv  snecial  knowledge  or  skill  bcvond  that  of  the 


THOROUGHFARES  AND  STREET  RAILWAYS     291 

surveyor  or  real-estate  promoter.  In  this  respect  it  has  oc- 
cupied a  unique  position,  since  all  other  public  improve- 
ments have  been  believed  to  require,  and  have  received,  the 
attention  of  experts. 

The  great  importance  of  the  street  rests  in  the  fact  that 
it  is  the  natural  channel  of  all  the  ordinary  mediums  of 
]niblic  circulation  and  public  service,  that  it  is  necessary  to 
the  profitable  development  and  use  of  property,  and  that 
only  through  the  opportunities  it  may  ofifer  can  there  be 
any  broad  or  general  expression  of  civic  art  or  dignity ;  and 
only  to  the  extent  to  which  a  comprehensive,  well-ordered 
system  of  main  thoroughfares  exists  can  those  functions 
be  jjerformed  efficiently  and  economically. 

The  natural  growth  of  a  city  is  invariably  radial,  pushing 
out  in  every  direction  from  a  common  center,  unless  some 
insurmountable  topographic  obstacle  prevents.  This  is  a 
law  of  communal  growth  as  old  as  civilization  itself,  yet  the 
i)uilders  of  cities,  particularly  of  American  cities,  have  per- 
sistently ignored  it  and  have  ])ermitted  cities  to  expand  mile 
after  mile  beyond  the  common  center  apparently  without 
sufficient  breadth  of  vision  to  see  that  all  expansion  con- 
tributed to  the  importance  of  the  center  and  to  the  con- 
centration there  of  all  the  {public,  quasi-public,  and  even 
private  activities  which  come  in  official,  business  or  social 
touch  with  the  entire  community,  and  without  taking  any 
effective  measures  to  satisfy  a  constantly  growing  need  for 
larger,  quicker,  and  more  con\cnicnt  means  of  intercom- 
munication, fndecd,  it  has  often  happened  tliat  direct 
routes  which  grew  up  naturally  wliile  a  district  was  rural  or 
suburban  have  been  aljandoncd  or  oI)structed  in  the  s])read 
of  urban  improvements,  and  ha\e  been  sui)erse(led  by  a 
system  of  streets  ])rojecte(l  with  the  sole  purpose  of  de- 
veloping ])ri\ate  jiroperty. 

If  we  take  a  map  coxering  a  considerable  area  surround- 
ing any  im])ortant  city,  we  will  find  a  system  of  roads  radi- 


292  CITY  PLANNING 

ating  from  the  city  to  the  towns  and  villages  round  about  it 
and  radiating  also  between  the  various  towns  and  villages. 
These  roads  usually  follow  the  lines  of  least  resistance  and 
are  quite  direct,  especially  between  important  centers.  They 
began  with  the  first  settlements  and  increased  in  number 
and  importance  as  the  settlements  grew  and  prospered ;  at 
first,  perhaps,  only  forest  trails,  then  wagon  tracks,  then 
post  roads  and  turnpikes ;  now  they  carry  fast  motor-car 
traffic,  and  many  are  occupied  by  high-speed  electric  railway 
lines.  Such  a  system  of  roads  represents  roughly  what  the 
system  of  main  thoroughfares  of  a  city  should  be,  a  system 
connecting  the  chief  center  directly  with  secondary  centers 
of  importance  and  also  directly  connecting  the  secondary 
centers  and  radiating  from  them  through  industrial  and 
residential  sections. 

Good  city  development  can  only  be  accomplished  where 
adequate  facilities  for  circulation  exist,  and  so  we  find  that 
in  all  of  the  many  cities  which  have  given  special  attention 
to  improved  city  planning  in  the  past  few  years  the  prob- 
lems of  greatest  importance  have  been  those  of  main  thor- 
oughfares and  street  railways,  the  two  primary  and  in- 
separable necessities  of  urban  transportation.  In  the  com- 
prehensive and  ambitious  plan  which  has  been  prepared  for 
the  improvement  of  Chicago,  the  most  important  and  far- 
reaching  feature  is  the  projected  system  of  interior  and  ex- 
terior main  thoroughfares,  the  radiating  and  encircling  lines 
of  which  are  spread  over  an  area  extending  sixty  miles  from 
the  center  of  the  city,  and  linked  up  in  such  a  manner  that 
direct  routes  are  established  throughout  the  city  and  between 
all  the  important  centers  in  the  area  tributary  to  it  which 
are  certain  to  grow  and  prosper  in  proportion  wath  the  fa- 
cilities each  will  have  for  direct  and  rapid  communication 
with  the  great  municipal  center  and  with  each  other. 

Such  a  system  should  be  planned  for  every  city  that  is 
aml)itious  for  a  normal  and  well-ordered  growth,   for  the 


THOROUGHFARES  AND  STREET  RAILWAYS     293 

signs  of  the  times  point  toward  decentralization  as  one  of 
the  most  effective  processes  for  accomplishing  the  objects 
aimed  at  by  all  the  national  and  local  civic  organizations 
now  engaged  in  promoting  campaigns  for  community  bet- 
terment along  various  lines  all  more  or  less  correlative.  De- 
centralization must  not  be  understood  as  meaning  the  de- 
struction of  the  great  municipal  center — as  that  must  con- 
tinue to  exist  and  even  grow  in  importance  as  typifying  the 
civic  dignity  and  power  of  the  community — but  as  the  dis- 
couragement of  the  drift,  toward  that  center,  of  commercial 
and  industrial  activities  not  directly  associated  with  ofificial 
and  civic  activities.  The  "zoning"  system,  or  the  restriction 
of  the  uses  to  which  certain  areas  may  be  put,  which  is  now 
receiving  much  serious  consideration  in  this  country,  and 
the  limitation  of  the  heights  of  buildings  would  tend  toward 
decentralization,  and  the  successful  carrying  out  of  any 
such  measures  for  limiting  the  use  of  land  will  depend 
largely  upon  the  efficiency  and  economy  of  the  street  system. 
Cities  have  not  nearly  reached  the  limits  of  their  ac- 
complishment in  any  direction.  It  is  pretty  generally  as- 
sumed that  they  will  continue  to  grow  quite  as  rapidly  in 
the  future  as  they  have  in  the  past,  and  the  most  sanguine 
can  only  hope  that  their  physical  growth  may  be  better 
regulated  and  those  activities  which  affect  the  well-being  of 
the  people  better  controlled  than  they  have  heretofore  been. 
Many  agencies  are  now  working  actively,  intelligently,  and 
untiringly  toward  those  ends,  and  are  witnessing  the  gradual 
breaking  down  of  the  veneration  in  high  places  for  tradi- 
tional customs,  habits,  and  policies.  In  this  breaking  down 
there  will  be  instances  wdiere  the  zeal  and  influence  of  ag- 
gressive enthusiasts  may  push  academic  theories  too  far,  and 
also  instances  where  shrewd  promoters  will  cleverly  culti- 
vate a  ])0])ular  demand  for  the  carrying  out  of  ])et  projects 
of  doubtful  or  limited  ])ul)lic  1)enefit ;  these  influences,  to- 
gether with  tliose  which  are  born  of  individual  sclflslmess. 


294  CITY  PLANNING 

constitute  a  menace  to  the  orderly  and  economic  working 
out  of  the  great  projects  now  contemplated  in  nearly  every 
city,  which  can  be  carried  to  completion  only  by  public  sup- 
port and  the  use  of  public  funds. 

Most,  if  not  all,  of  the  cost  of  constructing  a  system  of 
main  thoroughfares  commensurate  to  the  needs  of  a  rap- 
idly growing  community  must  be  paid  from  the  public  treas- 
ury, for,  unlike  the  ordinary  street  of  only  local  impor- 
tance, such  thoroughfares  serve  widely  separate  areas  and 
are  of  such  general  benefit  that  it  would  not  be  equitable 
to  charge  their  whole  cost  against  a  locally  benefited  area. 
Big  cities  are  undertaking,  in  one  way  or  another,  to  use 
the  public  funds  to  finance  the  improvement  of  their  street 
railway  systems ;  and  the  ownership  and  operation  of  these 
systems,  as  well  as  of  other  transportation  and  public-ser- 
vice utilities,  may  in  time  be  undertaken  by  all  our  munici- 
palities. These  and  many  other  activities  touching  the  pub- 
lic welfare  which  are  being  undertaken  at  public  expense 
are  vastly  increasing  the  cost  of  municipal  government,  and 
the  sums  involved  are  mounting  to  such  size  that  cities  can 
ill  afford  to  take  risks  or  adopt  arbitrary  or  ill-considered 
methods  in  their  public  works.  Bad  planning  means  not 
only  waste  of  public  money  but  waste  of  time  and  energy 
of  the  people.  Whether  or  not  we  like  the  modern  speed- 
ing-up processes,  they  seem  to  be  essential  to  American 
progress  and  must  be  provided  for ;  the  high-speed  vehicle 
seeks  the  route  over  which  it  can  make  the  quickest  time 
between  given  points ;  the  motor  car  at  safe  and  reasonable 
speed  easily  beats  the  surface  street  car ;  both  these  vehicles, 
as  well  as  all  others  using  the  public  highways,  should  have 
the  opportunity  of  giving  the  best  and  quickest  service  of 
which  they  are  capable,  consistent  with  the  safety  of  all 
street  traffic,  and  this  is  not  possible  without  a  well-planned 
system  of  main  thoroughfares. 

Main  thoroughfares  should  be  planned  in  as  direct  lines 


TIIOROUC^HFARILS  AND  STREET  RAILWAYS     295 

as  possible,  but  tbey  need  not  necessarily  be  straight.  Sharp 
curves  and  sudden  jogs  should,  however,  be  avoided  and 
changes  in  direction  should  be  accomplished  by  means  of 
curves  rather  than  angles,  except  where  the  deflection  occurs 
at  an  intersecting  street ;  a  graceful  curve  or  a  well-planned 
fork  will  tend  to  break  the  monotony  of  long,  straight  lines. 
Fopographical  conditions  should  not  be  permitted  to  exer- 
cise as  large  an  influence  upon  the  alignment  as  in  streets 
of  lesser  importance.  Detours  which  would  materially 
lengthen  the  route  should  be  made  only  to  avoid  excessive 
grades ;  some  heavy  cutting  and  filling  is  to  be  preferred 
over  many  windings  in  a  great  traffic  route  which  may  be 
required  to  carry  the  trade  of  a  large  city  for  centuries. 
The  first  plan  of  such  a  street  must  usually  be  considered 
its  permanent  one,  for  it  is  seldom  that  its  capacity  can  be  in- 
creased after  abutting  property  has  been  built  up. 

Secondary  thoroughfares  should  be  established  connect- 
ing the  main  ones  with  each  other  and  with  secondary 
centers  of  population  and  industry,  and  these  two  classes 
of  streets  should  form  the  primary  plan,  designed  to  create 
direct  routes  at  reasonable  intervals  throughout  the  entire 
city  and  surrounding  districts,  without  regard  for  the  de- 
velopment of  any  particular  property,  but  with  the  intelli- 
gent purpose  of  encouraging  an  equal  distribution  of  op- 
portunities for  improvement. 

With  an  efficient  system  of  main  and  secondary  thor- 
oughfares established,  other  ]xirts  of  the  plan,  covering 
residential  streets  and  those  which  can  never  be  of  much 
importance  to  through  travel,  should  be  left  as  elastic  as 
})ossible,  in  order  that  any  legitimate  form  of  development 
may  be  accommodated. 

In  ])lanning  main  thoroughfares,  o]iportunities  should  be 
sought  for  creating  squares,  open  sjiaccs,  and  ap])ropriate 
sites  for  ]nil)Hc  or  (iuasi-]nil)lic  buildings.  The  careful 
selection  and  planning  of  sucli  features,  or  planning  with  a 


296  CITY  PLANNING 

view  of  making  it  possible  to  establish  them  in  the  future, 
when  the  desire  or  necessity  for  them  arises,  should  be  an 
important  part  of  the  study  of  the  primary  plan,  since 
every  large  open  space  or  public  building  which  is  to  give 
expression  to  civic  art,  formal  dignity,  or  community 
strength  must  bear  a  proper  relationship  and  scale  to  the 
principal  highways.  The  educational  value  and  effect,  as 
well  as  the  beauty  and  impressiveness  of  fine  architectural 
conceptions,  whether  expressed  in  the  decoration  of  a  public 
square  or  in  the  design  of  a  splendid  building,  is  lost  with- 
out suitable  approaches,  harmonious  surroundings,  and  ad- 
vantageous viewpoints  from  which  the  complete  composition 
can  be  observed  and  appreciated. 

The  probable  location  of  new  business  centers  and  centers 
of  local  community  activities  should  also  be  considered  in 
the  general  primary  layout.  While  the  public  authorities 
cannot  control  the  drift  of  trade,  they  can  facilitate  and  en- 
courage its  establishment  in  strategic  locations  by  a  street 
plan  which  provides  ample  and  convenient  access  to  such 
centers.  The  establishment  of  local  municipal  and  civic 
centers  can  be  encouraged  in  a  similar  manner.  Efforts 
should  be  made  in  street  planning  to  encourage  and  ac- 
commodate the  natural  tendencies  of  business  and  traffic  so 
far  as  such  tendencies  do  not  lead  to  too  great  concentra- 
tion, but  concentration  has  become  an  evil  which  will  con- 
tinue to  increase  so  long  as  a  city  has  only  a  few  really 
important  main  thoroughfares  and  they  and  all  the  street 
railway  lines  are  so  arranged  as  to  feed  into  or  through 
one  important  center.  It  should  be  possible  so  to  arrange 
the  system  of  main  thoroughfares  that  a  number  of  im- 
portant centers  might  be  established,  and  that  through  traf- 
fic might  have  a  choice  of  routes  equally  convenient.  This 
might  be  accomplished  by  a  marked  differentiation  in  the 
width  and  arrangement  of  main  traffic  and  secondary  thor- 
oughfares, wherein-  traffic  would  be  led  naturally  and  with- 


THOROUGHFARES  AND  STREET  RAILWAYS     297 

out  confusion  into  the  broader  and  more  convenient  routes 
provided  for  it.  , 

Widths  and  Subdivisions 

Not  only  have  cities  failed  in  establishing  a  proper  net- 
work of  main  thoroughfares,  but  they  have  lacked  wisdom 
in  fixing  their  widths.  The  area  given  up  to  streets  in  most 
cities  is  quite  ample — in  many  it  is  wasteful — but  its  dis- 
tribution has  been  arbitrary  and  unsystematic.  There  are 
usually  too  few  direct,  through  routes  of  the  kind  needed 
for  what  we  may  call  the  long-distance  traffic,  and  traffic 
of  this  kind  is  increasing  enormously  with  the  rapid  ex- 
pansion of  the  city  and  its  influences,  with  the  increasing 
use  of  the  motor  vehicle,  and  with  the  demand  for  high- 
speed street  railway  lines.  Travel  goes  where  travel  is, 
just  as  business  goes  where  business  is ;  long-distance  travel 
will  seek  the  through  street  or  the  street  making  the  most 
direct  connection  with  a  through  route,  and  for  this  reason 
we  often  find  a  street  congested  with  traffic  while  an  ad- 
jacent one  of  equal  width,  having  poor  connections,  or 
leading  nowhere  in  particular,  carries  very  little. 

The  practice  of  maintaining  uniformity  of  widths 
throughout  a  street  system  has  been  carried  to  much  too 
great  an  extreme,  for  even  though  the  entire  system  were 
connected  in  the  most  perfect  manner,  only  a  few  streets 
would  become  highly  important  through  the  establishment 
of  business  upon  them  and  the  consequent  attraction  of  busi- 
ness travel,  and  through  their  occui:)ancy  l)y  street-railway 
lines ;  a  few  others  might  become  ])opular  as  driving  streets, 
but  the  majority  of  them  would  be  of  minor  importance. 

It  immediately  becomes  apparent  lo  any  one  who  under- 
takes even  a  casual  study  of  urljan  transportation  problems 
that,  if  the  kind  of  service  needed  and  demanded  in  the 
modern  city  is  to  be  given  by  railways  occu])ying  the  ])ul)lic 


298 


299 


3O0  CITY  PLANNING 

streets,  the  streets  to  be  so  occupied  must  be  planned  with 
that  object  in  view,  and  must,  therefore,  be  wider  than 
streets  planned  for  the  ordinary  purposes  of  city  develop- 
ment. It  is  manifestly  unnecessary  to  plan  all  streets  of 
widths  sufficient  for  high-speed  service,  and  it  is  just  as 
manifestly  impossible  that  all  street-railway  service  can  be 
of  that  kind.  Therefore,  it  seems  that  there  should  be  two 
classes  of  main  thoroughfares,  one  to  carry  the  high-speed 
lines,  subway,  elevated  or  open-cut,  and  the  other  the  sur- 
face lines.  It  is  obvious  that  the  first  class  will  be  in  the 
minority  and  should  be  planned  directly  to  connect  impor- 
tant centers ;  their  focusing  toward  one  important  center 
should  be  discouraged  if  concentration  and  congestion  are 
to  be  avoided,  and  their  spacing  should  be  generally  from 
one  to  two  miles  apart.  Their  width  should  be  sufficient  to 
permit  of  the  construction  of  a  two-track  line  of  any  type, 
and  for  this  purpose  a  minimum  width  of  one  hundred  and 
forty-eight  feet  is  suggested,  with  a  space  along  the  center 
sufficient  for  an  elevated  line  screened  by  trees,  or  an  open 
cut  with  half-slopes,  the  latter  designed  for  conversion  into 
a  covered  subway  in  the  event  of  surface  traffic  requiring 
additional  space.  Streets  of  this  class  and  for  this  purpose 
are  now  being  planned  in  Philadelphia  with  a  6o-foot-wide 
center  strip,  a  26-foot  roadway  on  either  side,  and  18-foot 
sidewalks.  The  60-foot  central  strip  could  readily  be  made 
to  accommodate  a  four-track  line  without  disturbing  any 
other  part  of  the  street,  should  such  an  enlargement  be 
required.  Four-tracking  would,  however,  not  be  required 
if  high-speed  lines  were  confined  to  their  proper  function, 
that  of  express  service,  leaving  the  local  and  short  haul 
service  to  the  surface  lines. 

There  has  been  much  discussion  of  the  merits  and  de- 
merits of  classification  and  standardization  as  aids  in  the 
more  systematic  and  efficient  establishment  of  street  widths. 
]')0tli  i)ossess  some  degree  of  merit  and  have  had  a  wide 


3')  I 


302 


CITY  PLANNING 


influence,  but  it  is  probable  that  this  influence  has  been  the 
result  of  habit  and  custom  rather  than  of  deliberate  de- 
sign.    Classification  is  perhaps  most  evident  in  European 


CS055  5lXTI0n-f^nCHrttJiiTRM5t.-DRL5Dtrt 


Cross  5Lxrn(yi-BiSf\AE.cK5TRASSc-5t.RLi/i 


Cross  StcTion-BuLOwsTRASSL-BLRU/i 


practice,  and  standardization  in  American  practice,  as  in- 
dicated by  the  character  and  uses  of  the  streets  of  the  cities 
of  France  and  Germany  and  the  uniformity  of  widths  of 
those  of  the  United  States.  In  the  former  there  is  some 
special  significance  in  the  words  alley,  street,  and  avenue, 
while  in  the  latter  a  public  way  which  is  in  fact  an  alley  is 
often  called  an  avenue.     In  the  former  there  is  much  ir- 


THOROUGHFARES  AND  STRF.KT  RAH.WAYS     303 

regularity  of  widths,  while  in  the  latter  they  are  uniform 
and  standard,  as,  for  example,  the  60-  and  100-foot  widths 
of  New  York,  the  50-  and  r)0-foot  widths  of  Philadelphia, 
and  the  66-foot  width  common  to  so  many  cities  in  the 
United  States  and  Canada  that  it  can  almost  he  called  the 
American  standard. 

Most  city-planning  authorities  agree,  holh  in  theory  and 
actual  i)ractice,  that  main  thoroughfares  should  he  100  feet 
or  more  in  width  and  that  secondary  ones  should  he  at  least 


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TEMPORARY 

SECTfON 
66n.  STREET 


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SEC  68-?& 


Elastic   Skction.     Staxdaki)  Si;(()ni>akv  Tuakiic   Thoroi^ghfare 


80  feet  wide.  Streets  of  these  widths  involve  very  con- 
siderahle  expense  for  construction  and  maintenance  and 
if  too  many  of  them  are  established  the  burden  upon  the 
puljlic  treasury  becomes  unnecessarily  heavy.  The  general 
layout  should,  therefore,  be  leased  upon  as  accurate  a  fore- 
cast of  future  traffic  needs  as  it  is  possible  to  make,  the 
numl)cr  of  them  should  be  kept  witliin  r(>asonable  limits, 
and  economic  methods  of  construction  and  maintenance 
should  be  adopted. 

Hie    i4(S-fo()t   width   referred   to   upon   a   jireceding  jxige 
w.is    adopted,    after    careful    consideration,    as    a])propriate 


304  CITY  PLANNING 

in  the  particular  instances  in  which  it  is  applied,  and  widths 
of  1 08  and  88  feet  were  adopted  for  other  main  and  sec- 
ondary thoroughfares  upon  the  same  general  plan,  which  is 
heing  made  in  carrying  out  a  revision  of  the  street  system 
over  an  area  of  about  5,000  acres  in  the  southern  part  of 
Philadelphia,  where  a  severely  rectangular  system  of  streets 
50  and  60  feet  wide,  spaced  about  400  feet  apart,  had 
previously  been  projected.  The  streets  108  and  88  feet  wide 
are  planned  to  accommodate  double-track  street  railways 
and  to  serve  as  through  routes  for  general  traffic ;  the  former 
width  is  sufficient  to  permit  surface  tracks  to  occupy  a 
separate  reservation  in  the  center  or  to  be  spaced  for  the 
passage  of  high-speed  vehicles  between  them,  and  is  also 
sufficient  for  occupancy  by  an  elevated  line  if  one  should 
become  necessary. 

The  widths  of  cross-section  subdivisions  of  streets  as 
established  under  this  revision  are  based  upon  certain  unit 
widths  for  lines  of  traffic.  In  determining  roadways  the 
width  for  the  first  two  lines  of  vehicles  is  based  upon  a  9- 
foot  unit,  and  each  additional  line  upon  an  8- foot  unit, 
except  where  the  roadway  will  be  occupied  by  a  double- 
track  surface  railway,  in  which  case  the  9-foot  unit  is  used 
up  to  four  lines  of  traffic,  beyond  which  widths  are  in- 
creased by  adding  two  8- foot  units,  since  the  addition  of  one 
such  single  unit  upon  a  double-tracked  street  with  the  tracks 
in  the  center  would  not  increase  the  traffic  carrying  capac- 
ity. This  practice  results  in  roadway  widths  of  18,  26,  2)^, 
and  52  feet,  the  latter  being  considered  the  maximum  road- 
way width  of  the  88-foot  street,  with  an  allowance  of  18 
feet  for  each  sidewalk.  The  108- foot  street  is  the  88-foot 
one  split  along  the  middle,  with  a  20-foot  reservation  for 
the  street  railway  inserted  between  roadways  each  26  feet 
wide,  the  sidewalks  remaining  the  same.  The  sidewalk 
width  is  based  upon  a  2-foot  unit  for  each  line  of  pedes- 
trians, and  is  sulxlivided  into  a  r)-foot  jiaved  walk  with  a 


THOROUGHFARES  AND  STREET  RAILWAYS     305 

6-foot  grass  strip  upon  each  side  and  with  a  row  of  trees 
3  feet  inside  the  curb  Hne. 

The  actual  use  of  this  method  of  street  planning  is  stated 
to  show  that  it  is  believed  to  be  sound  in  principle,  but  its 
ultimate  merits  can  be  determined  only  by  the  test  of  time 
and  service  after  the  territory  to  which  it  is  being  applied 
shall  be  fully  developed. 

The  same  units  should  be  used  in  determining  roadway 
and  sidewalk  widths  upon  all  streets.  In  very  wide  streets 
the  width  of  the  central  reservation  will  depend  upon  the 
particular  useful  or  decorative  purpose  it  is  intended  to 
serve.  Ample  sidewalk  widths  are  always  desirable,  and  it 
is  better  to  take  the  chance  of  having  them  too  wide  rather 
than  too  narrow,  particularly  in  planning  undeveloped  areas 
where  the  opening  will  not  involve  great  cost.  Main  thor- 
oughfares will  usually  be  the  first  ones  opened  in  a  new 
territory,  and  they  should  be  improved  in  a  manner  that 
will  attract  special  attention  and  encourage  the  develop- 
ment of  the  section  they  serve.  If  they  become  important 
business  streets  in  the  future,  wide  sidewalks  will  be  a 
distinct  advantage,  and  if  properly  planted  at  the  time  they 
are  opened,  and  properly  maintained,  they  will  always  con- 
tribute much  to  the  attractiveness  of  a  fine  avenue  for  either 
residential  or  business  purposes. 

The  initial  opening  of  main  thoroughfares  will  usually 
occur  many  years  before  they  arrive  at  their  period  of 
greatest  importance  as  heavy  traffic  carriers,  and  a  very 
large  saving  in  the  cost  of  construction  and  maintenance 
can  be  efl'cctcd  by  the  adoj^tion  of  the  "elastic"  princii)le  in 
their  ojicniiig  and  improvement.  Tf,  in  the  case  of  a  street 
lO(S  feet  wide,  restrictions  coul<l  be  imposed  ])reventing  the 
erection  of  any  ])crmaiKnt  iinproNcincnts  within  those  lines, 
the  original  oi)ening  nn'ght  be  only  (x^  feet  wide,  with  a 
roa(l\vri\-  26  or  36  feet  wide,  as  such  a  \\i(Uli  is  e(|nal  to 
tliat  of  om-  most  important  and  most  heavily  traxeled  coun- 


S  a  ; 

Hi 


I   I! 


306 


THOROUCiTTFARRS  y\XD  STREET  RAILWAYS     307 

try  highways.  Usually,  however,  it  may  be  found  more  ad- 
vantageous to  acquire  the  full  width  and  pave  only  such 
portions  as  will  be  needed  for  traffic  within  a  reasonable 
period ;  this  would  also  permit  the  necessary  grading  to  be 
done  and  the  planting  of  trees  in  their  permanent  locations, 
and  less  disturbance  of  physical  conditions  would  occur  in 
the  event  of  the  subsequent  widening  of  the  roadways.  The 
"elastic"  street  is  not  a  new  theory,  but  a  practical  measure 
of  economy  in  many  cities,  and  there  are  instances  where 
roadways  which  have  been  paved  and  in  use  for  many  years 
have  been  reduced  in  width  as  a  measure  of  economy  be- 
cause they  were  found  to  be  much  wider  than  was  necessary 
to  accommodate  the  traffic. 

With  the  constantly  increasing  variety,  size,  and  number 
of  structures  required  for  the  underground  service  of  cities, 
there  is  as  great  a  necessity  for  wide  main  thoroughfares 
for  the  accommodation  of  their  trunk  lines  as  for  the  ac- 
commodation of  surface  traffic.  Few  citizens  realize  the 
vast  network  of  pipes  and  conduits  that  traverse  the  streets, 
and  only  those  who  have  charge  of  the  construction  and 
maintenance  of  such  structures  are  familiar  with  the  diffi- 
culty and  cost  of  placing  them  in  narrow  and  irregular 
streets.  Such  structures  are  certain  to  increase  in  number 
as  new  and  enlarged  uses  are  found  for  them.  The  desira- 
bility of  wide  sidewalks  for  tiie  location  of  structures  hav- 
ing local  house  connections  should  be  seriously  considered. 
Tiiere  is  generally  less  occasion  to  uncover  mains  than 
house-service  lines,  and  the  placing  of  the  former  under 
the  roadway  and  the  latter  under  the  sidewalks  would  ren- 
der the  constant  tearing  up  of  costly  paving  unnecessary, 
'i'he  cost  of  house  connections  would  also  l)e  much  less  in 
wide  streets  by  reason  of  the  service  lines  lying  nearer  to 
the  houses,  as  it  is  more  economical  to  lay  a  line  uj)on  each 
side  of  such  streets  than  to  lay  a  single  line  re(juiring  very 
lone  connections. 


3o8  CTTY  PLANNING 

The  importance  of  economic  grades  is  too  often  neglected 
in  street  planning.  The  experience  of  the  city  of  Seattle 
teaches  the  best  lesson  of  the  great  unwisdom  of  heavy 
grades.  If,  in  the  original  planning  of  the  streets  in  that 
city,  certain  ones  had  been  selected  as  main  thoroughfares 
and  cut  to  a  reasonable  grade  the  great  destruction  and  cost 
of  the  regrading  recently  done  there  as  a  m.easure  of  abso- 
lute necessity  might  have  been  avoided. 

In  establishing  grades,  the  main  thoroughfare  should  be 
favored,  as  to  the  general  grade  and  adjustments  at  inter- 
sections, over  streets  of  secondary  or  minor  importance. 
Abrupt  breaks  and  the  establishment  of  pronounced  benches 
or  platforms  at  intersections  should  be  avoided  for  the  sake 
of  appearance  as  well  as  service.  It  is  quite  possible  so  to 
adjust  the  paving  that  reasonably  heavy  grades  can  be  car- 
ried through  intersections,  without  detriment  to  either  drain- 
age or  traffic ;  changes  of  grade  should  be  accomplished  by 
vertical  parabolic  curves  rather  than  by  abrupt  breaks. 

It  is  not  possible  for  anyone  to  foresee  just  how  a  city  is 
going  to  grow  or  just  what  the  requirements  of  circulation 
will  be  in  the  future,  but  it  is  certain  that  urban  growth 
will  proceed  rapidly  and  that  cities  will  continue  to  spread 
over  continually  widening  areas.  The  present  tendency  to- 
ward limiting  the  height  of  buildings  and  placing  restraint 
upon  the  intensive  use  of  land  will  bring  larger  areas  into 
use.  Travel  requiring  direct  through  routes  for  consider- 
able distances  will  greatly  increase,  and  this  should  be 
provided  for  in  a  skillful  and  economic  manner  by  creating  a 
network  of  main  and  secondary  traffic  thoroughfares  as 
the  primary  element  of  the  city  plan. 

All  the  lessons  of  modern  city  planning,  practical  and 
theoretical,  teach  us  that  the  city  of  the  future  is  to  be  a 
city  where  light,  air,  comfort,  convenience,  health,  and 
beauty  will  prevail,  as  well  as  a  city  where  commercial 
and  industrial  energy,  business  enterprise,  and  social  and 


309 


310  CITY  PLANNING 

professional  ambitions  will  flourish  and  win  their  rewards. 
Transportation  will  continue  to  be,  as  it  has  been  in  the 
past,  the  most  potential  agent  in  the  growth  of  cities,  and 
those  cities  wliich  will  serve  their  citizens  best  and  measure 
up  most  nearly  to  the  standard  set  will  be  those  which 
early  solve  the  problem  of  circulatory  needs  and  lay  the 
foundation  for  their  growth  upon  a  well-ordered  system  of 
main  thoroughfares  planned  for  general  service,  and  de- 
signed to  accommodate,  efficiently  and  economically,  safely, 
comfortably,  and  speedily,  that  particular  form  of  public 
service  most  needed  and  most  used  by  the  people  in  their 
everyday  business  and  social  activities — the  street  rail- 
way. 


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Abercrombie,  Patrick.  The  New  Wirral  Road.  Town  Plan- 
ning Review,  v,  no.  3,  p.  228. 

American  Society  of  Municipal  Improvements.  Report  of 
Committee  on  Traffic  on  Streets  and  Roads.  Snn'cyor  and 
Municipal  and  County  Engineer,  xliii,  January    10,   1913, 

PP-  38-39- 

Arnold,  Bion  Joseph.  Report  on  the  Engineering  and  Op- 
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submitted  to  the  Committee  on  Local  Transportation  of  the 
Chicago  City  Council.  New  York,  1905.  2  vols,  (one 
map). 

.     Report    on    the    Pittsburgh    Transpor*^ation    Problem. 

Pittsburgh,  1910.    202  pp. 

Baker,  I.  O.  A  Treatise  on  Roads  and  Pavements.  2d  edi- 
tion, New  York,  1913.     698  pp. 

Boston  Metropolitan  Improvements  Commission.  Report,  1909. 
p.   187. 

Byrne,  A.  T.,  and  Phillips,  A.  E.  Highway  Construction. 
Chicago,   1908.     136  pp. 

Cambridge,  Mass.     A  Report  upon  a  Comprehensive  Plan   for 


THOROUGlIIvVRES  AND  STREET  RAILWAYS   311 

the  Development  and  Improvement  of  the  Streets  and  the 
Disposal   of   Refnse,   June   26,    191 1.     Cambridge.     ^2  pp. 

Eno,  W.  p.  Standardized  Street  Traffic  Regulations.  Ameri- 
can City,  ix,  September,  1913,  pp.  223-226. 

.  Street  Traffic  Regulation :  General  Street  Traffic  Regu- 
lations; Special  Street  Traffic  Regulations;  Changes  in  Car 
Tracks  and  Curb  Lines.     New  York,  1909.     63  pp. 

Fkost,  Hakwooi).  The  Art  of  Roadmaking,  Treating  of  the 
Various  Problems  and  Operations  in  the  Construction  and 
Maintenance  of  Roads,  Streets,  and  Pavements.  New 
York,  1910.     544  pp. 

Great  Britain.  London  Traffic  Branch.  London  Traffic  Re- 
port,  No.    1-5,    1905/07-1912.     London,   1908-1913. 

Great  Britain.  London  Traffic  Commission.  Report  of  the 
Royal  Commission  Appointed  to  Inquire  Into  and  Report 
Upon  the  Means  of  Locomotion  and  Transport  in  London. 
London,  1905- 1906.     8  vols. 

Great  Britain.  Royal  Commission  on  London  Traffic.  Report. 
London,  1905-1906.  8  vols.  A  resume  of  the  reports  is 
contained  in  Engineering  News,  Ixv,  April  13,  191 1,  pp. 
438-440. 

HALi)E.\rAN,  B.  A.  The  Planning  of  City  Streets.  Proceedings 
of  Engineers'  Club  of  Philadelphia,  xxx,  April,   1913,  pp. 

143-171- 
HuRD,    R.    M.     Structure    of    Cities.      Municipal    Affairs,    vi, 

March,   1902,- pp.  24-43. 
Jersey  City,  N.  J.     Board  of  Police  Commissioners.     Rules  for 
the  Regulation   of  Street  Traffic.     Jersey   City,   1913.      15 

PP- 
JuDSON,  \V.  P.     City  Roads  and  Pavements  Suited  to  Cities  of 

Moderate   Size.     New   York,    1909.      197  pp. 
Ki.osE,   Gi:oK(;.     Der   Stadtstrasscnbau.     Berlin,    1914.     109  pp. 
KoicsTKK,   I 'rank.      Modern  City  Planning  and  Maintenance,  p. 

55- 
Lank,     i'\     V.    Z.,    and     Noi.kx,    John.       City     I'lanning    and 
Distril)ution   Costs.     .Iniials  of  Ihc  American  .Icadony  of 
Political    and    Social    Science,    1,     November,     1913.     pp. 
240-246. 


312  CITY  PLANNING 

Lewis,  N.  P.  Street  Widths  and  Their  Subdivisions.  Proceed- 
ings of  Third  National  Conference  on  City  Planning,  191 1, 
pp.  184-187. 

London.  Town  Planning  Conference.  Transactions,  1910,  pp. 
247  and  537. 

Mawson,  T.  H.  Street  Planning.  Applied  Science  (Toronto), 
V,  December,  191 1,  pp.  73-85. 

Meik,  C.  S.  The  Improvement  of  London  Traffic.  London, 
1905.     27  pp. 

Meyer,  H.  R.  Municipal  Real  Estate  Operations  in  Connec- 
tion with  Street  Improvements,  in  Paris,  London,  and  the 
Provincial  Towns  of  England.  Report,  Massachusetts  Pub- 
lic Improvements  Committee,  1904,  pp.  53-101.  [House 
doc.  no.  288.] 

National  Conference  on  City  Planning.  Proceedings,  Phila- 
delphia, 1910,  pp.  184,  198,  and  219;  Boston,  191 1,  p.  116; 
Chicago,  1913,  p.  163. 

New  York  City.  Merchants'  Association.  Passenger  Trans- 
portation Service  in  the  City  of  New  York.  A  Report 
to  the  Association  by  Its  Committee  on  Engineering  and 
Sanitation,  September,  1903.  New  York,  1903.  216 
pp. 

Olmsted,  F.  L.  Pittsburgh  Main  Thoroughfares  and  the 
Down-town   District.      Pittsburgh,    191 1.     169   pp. 

Planning  of  New  Streets  and  Roads.     Surveyor,  xliii,  June  27, 

1913.  PP-  991-997- 

Roads  and  Streets.     Town  Planning  Rcvieiv,  v,  no.  i,  p.  31. 

RoiiiNsoN,  Charles  Mulford.  The  Width  and  Arrangement 
of  Streets.       New  York,  191 1.     199  pp. 

Shurtleff,  a.  a.  The  Public  Street  Systems  of  the  Cities 
and  Towns  about  Boston  in  Relation  to  Private  Street 
Schemes.  Proceedings  of  Poiirth  National  Conference  on 
City  Planning,  191 2,  pp.  11 6- 124. 

Street  Openings.  Practice  in  Forty-nine  Cities  Regarding  Mak- 
ing House  Connections  for  Sewers,  Water  and  (ias  Mains; 
Licensing  and  Bonding  Plumbers.  Municipal  Journal, 
xxxvi,  March  19,  1914,  pp.  394-395- 

Triggs,  Imgo.     Town  Planning,  pp.  120  and  213. 


THOROUGHFARES  AND  STREET  RAHAVAYS   313 

Unwin,  Raymond.     Town  Planning  in  Practice,  p.  235. 

Worcester,  Mass.  Commission  on  Relief  of  Street  Conges- 
tion. Final  Report,  December  12,  191 1.  Worcester,  1912. 
7i  PP- 


CHAPTER    XIV 

THE  EFFECT  OF  RAPID  TRANSIT  ON  THE  CITY  PLAN 

The  very  marked  increase  in  the  ratio  between  the  urban 
and  rural  population  which  has  taken  place  in  the  last  cen- 
tury is  largely  due  to  the  application  of  power  and  ma- 
chinery to  manufacturing  and  transportation.  On  the  one 
hand,  this  has  provided  a  means  of  livelihood  for  large 
numbers  in  small  areas,  and  on  the  other,  it  has  provided  a 
cheap  and  rapid  means  of  conveying  the  necessities  of  life 
to  the  city  dweller  and  the  output  of  his  labor  to  a  market. 

The  development  of  urban  centers  has  been  accompanied 
by  a  change  in  the  conditions  of  urban  life ;  the  business, 
manufacturing,  and  residential  areas  becoming  separated, 
and  suburban  areas  growing  up  along  the  lines  of  the  steam 
railways. 

To  a  certain  point  in  the  development  of  a  city  the  steam, 
or  trunk  railway  was  adequate  for  the  purposes  of  pas- 
senger transportation  to  outer  districts,  but  it  should  be 
remembered  that  its  primary  function  is  to  furnish  trans- 
portation of  freight  and  passengers  between  the  city  and  the 
outside  world  beyond.  It  can  handle  a  certain  amount  of 
suburban  business  and  even  some  within-the-city  trans- 
portation, but  when  the  growth  of  such  traffic  reaches  a 
point  where  it  interferes  with  the  railway's  primary  func- 
tion, such  traffic  can  be  better  served  and  the  city  more 
uniformly  expanded  by  the  construction  of  independent 
passenger  lines  than  by  adding  facilities  to  the  main  line 
railways.    At  the  same  time,  the  steam  railway  must  neces- 

314 


EFFECT  OF  RAPID  TRANSIT  ON  CITY  PLAN     315 

sarily  continue  to  handle  a  considerable  portion  of  the  pas- 
senger business  contiguous  to  its  lines  within  the  suburban 
territory,  and  to  that  extent  the  steam  railroad  overlaps 
and  performs  the  functions  of  what  is  later  described  as 
"rapid-transit"  service. 

The  development  of  the  suburban  passenger  business  of 
the  steam  railroads,  and  the  concentration  of  great  popula- 
tions within  city  limits,  necessitated  the  provision  of  means 
for  the  distribution  of  the  people  within  these  limited  areas 
of  dense  population,  and,  consequently,  there  were  devel- 
oped, first,  lines  of  omnibus  transportation,  and,  later,  lines 
of  street-car  transportation  to  jierform  local  distribution  ser- 
vice. The  function  of  the  street  surface  railroad  has 
obviously  been  to  provide  passenger  service  locally  upon 
the  surface  of  streets  or  private  rights-of-way,  necessitating 
comparatively  low  speeds  of  operation.  In  districts  of 
concentrated  population  this  movement  has  been  very  slow, 
although,  since  the  introduction  of  electric  power  for  the 
operation  of  cars,  the  movement  in  less  populous  suburban 
districts  has  been  comparatively  rapid.  The  operation  of 
cars  on  the  surface  of  streets  in  built-up  districts  becomes  a 
nuisance  when  more  than  one  car  is  operated  as  a  train 
unit,  and  while  in  some  cities  one  or  more  so-called  trailer 
cars  may  be  attached  to  a  motor  car,  a  train  of  this  type  is 
objectionable  and  introduces  increased  hazards  to  public 
safety  and  delays  to  other  traffic,  compared  with  the  opera- 
tion of  single  units. 

It  has  been  stated  that  "the  popular  conception  of  'rapid 
transit'  means  train  operation  as  distinguished  from  single 
car  oi)eration."  The  same  authority  states  further:  "Of 
course,  the  horse-cars  and  bus-lines  of  early  New  York 
constituted  'rapid  transit'  for  tliose  days."  In  this  review, 
however,  consideration  is  onlv  given  to  the  tyi)es  of  intra- 
urban transit  that  are  now  ])()pularly  accepted  as  "ra])id 
transit."     This  delinition  of  the  term  "rapid  transit"  hardly 


3i6  CITY  PLANNING 

goes  far  enough,  for  under  modern  conditions  rapid-transit 
service  may  be  operated  by  single  car  units  or  by  long 
trains  of  cars.  A  better  definition  of  a  rapid-transit  line  is 
"one  that  is  so  placed  that  speed  can  be  attained  without 
endangering  or  conflicting  with  the  street  traffic,"  a  result 
which  can  be  accomplished  only  by  building  above  or  below 
the  street  surface  or  on  acquired  property,  with  the  line  de- 
pressed or  elevated  at  cross  streets.  The  recent  develop- 
ment of  rapid  transit  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  urban 
population  has  extended  its  residential  and  commercial 
areas,  and  the  distances  between  such  districts  and  the  time 
for  distribution  have  so  increased  that  it  is  obvious  that  in 
every  city  a  point  has  been,  or  will  be,  reached  in  its  evolu- 
tion when  other  means  than  the  service  of  steam  railroads 
and  street  surface  railroads  are  needed  for  quicker  and  more 
efiicient  handling  of  the  local  and  near  suburban  passenger 
service,  thus  permitting  of  the  extension  of  the  radius  of 
the  urban  district  and  thereby  distributing  the  population 
over  the  larger  territory.  With  the  growth  of  great  cities, 
the  time  consumed  by  each  individual  in  traveling  between 
his  residence  and  place  of  business  constitutes  an  increas- 
ingly large  percentage  of  his  total  day,  and  it  becomes  de- 
sirable to  reduce  as  far  as  possible  the  time  required  for  this 
daily  transportation. 

The  steam  railroads  can  operate  through  trains,  for  long 
distances  with  few  stops,  at  an  average  speed  of  45  miles 
per  hour  or  more,  while  their  suburban  service,  with  the 
increased  number  of  stops,  operates  at  speeds  of  30  to  35 
miles  per  hour,  according  to  the  district  served  and  the 
frequency  of  the  stops.  On  the  other  hand,  the  distributing 
street-surface  railroads  in  the  sections  of  a  city  not  closely 
built  up  and  under  conditions  of  light  trafific,  operate  at 
average  speeds  of  11  or  12  miles  per  hour;  whereas,  in 
congested  portions  of  great  cities  the  average  speed  docs 
not  exceed  8  miles  per  hour.     Over  a  complete  run  of  tlic 


EFFECT  OF  RAPID  TKANSrr  ON  CrrY  PLAN    317 

ordinary  street  surface  railroad  in  large  cities,  the  cars  may 
he  expected  to  operate  at  a  speed  of  approximately  9^^ 
miles  per  hour. 

It  was  ohvious,  therefore,  that  there  must  he  provided  a 
passenger  service  intermediate  hetween  these  two  types  of 
transj)ortation,  eliminating  entirely  the  interferences  which 
the  steam  railroads  often  had  in  the  existence  of  grade 
crossings,  and  which  the  street  railroads  incurred  hy  stop- 
])ages  at  every  street  corner,  and  the  ohstruction  by  vehicu- 
lar traffic.  Such  an  intermediate  service  was  necessary 
in  order  to  furm'sh  transportation  which,  in  speed,  would 
l)e  more  nearly  that  of  the  steam  railroad,  but  which  would 
be  constructed  otherwise  than  at  the  grade  of  streets,  and 
which  would  provide  for  train  stops  at  definite  intervals, 
according  to  the  average  speed  to  be  attained  and  the  neces- 
sities of  distrilnition  of  the  traffic. 

The  operation  of  city  transportation  by  any  line  of  rail- 
road develops  a  service  upon  that  railroad  which  is  most 
convenient  to  a  certain  tributary  population ;  and  the  gen- 
eral tendency  of  movement  by  the  po])ulation  of  a  city  over 
its  railroads  develops  very  nearly  fixed  ratios  of  transpor- 
tation for  all  the  different  hours  of  the  day,  which  propor- 
tions remain  practically  constant,  excepting  in  so  far  as 
affected  by  exterior  circumstances.  That  is  to  say,  for 
practically  five  days  of  the  week  there  will  be  generally  a 
normal  ])ercentage  of  the  total  transjiortation  handled  in 
each  hoiu".  On  Saturdays  and  Sundays  similarly  there  will 
be  a  corres])on(ling  bom"ly  ratio,  but  obviously  different 
from  that  of  the  other  five  days  of  the  week.  TToHdays  or 
other  circumstances  may  materially  affect  the  hourly  move- 
ment, l^ifferent  countries  or  cities  may  have  different  load 
ciu'\es,  btit  for  the  most  ])art  in  the  large  cities  this  curve 
is  closely  similar,  indicating  a  concentration  of  movement 
of  tlie  tril)utary  po])ulation  between  ])laces  of  business  and 
places  of  residence. 


3i8  CITY  PLANNING 

The  load  curve  shows  great  concentration,  or  maximum 
density,  of  traffic  "workward"  during  the  period  approxi- 
mately between  eight  and  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and 
a  still  greater  concentration,  or  maximum  density,  of  traffic 
"homeward"  in  the  evening  between  five  and  six  o'clock. 
These  two  periods  are  known  as  the  "peak-load"  hours  of 
travel,  and  in  some  cases  they  are  referred  to  as  the  "rush 
hours."  The  capacity  of  the  railroad  to  transport  its  busi- 
ness is  measured  by  the  concentration  in  these  morning  and 
evening  hours,  and  it  is  the  ability  of  a  railroad  to  handle 
its  peak-load  business  that  controls  its  capacity  as  a  whole 
to  earn  its  income.  A  fair  average  of  the  peak  load  in  the 
morning  may  be  considered  as  ten  per  cent,  of  the  total 
daily  traffic  in  both  directions,  while  the  peak  load  in  the 
evening  may  be  considered  as  fourteen  per  cent,  of  the 
total  daily  traffic  in  both  directions.  Almost  invariably  the 
largest  portion  of  this  total  peak-load  traffic  is  in  one  direc- 
tion, as  it  is  seldom  that  a  railroad  is  so  laid  out  as  to 
handle  equal  loads  in  both  directions  at  the  same  hours  of 
the  day.  It  is  obvious,  as  the  peak  load  is  a  reasonably  con- 
stant factor,  that  a  railroad  passing  through  the  business 
district  extending  in  each  direction,  and  consequently  ob- 
taining a  more  nearly  equal  load  in  both  directions,  can 
operate  its  traffic  with  less  car  mileage  and,  therefore,  more 
economically  than  a  similar  railroad  terminating  in  a  busi- 
ness district. 

On  Sundays  the  traffic  is  not  over  nine  per  cent,  of  the 
total  weekly  traffic,  while  on  the  heaviest  single  day  of  a 
week  it  will  approximate  seventeen  per  cent,  of  the  total 
weekly  traffic.  Similarly,  there  is  in  most  great  cities  a  very 
marked  difference  between  the  volume  of  traffic  in  the  sum- 
mer and  in  the  winter,  depending  largely  on  the  type  of 
service  rendered  by  each  particular  line  of  transportation. 
In  cities  where  rapid-transit  service  has  been  instituted,  the 
increasing  hal)it  of  the  people  to  use  such  facilities  has  been 


KFI'KCT  OF  RAV\D  TRAXSIT  OX  flTV  J'LAX     319 

very  noticcaljlc  in  respect  of  what  might  be  called  the  "rid- 
ing habit."  Taking  as  an  illustration  New  York  City,  the 
increase  in  traffic  has  been  at  an  enormously  greater  rate 
than  the  increase  in  population.  In  i860,  before  any  rapid- 
transit  facilities  were  provided  in  New  York,  the  traffic 
reports  indicate  that  there  were  forty-three  rides  per  head 
of  population  per  annum.  In  1890,  after  the  elevated  rail- 
roads had  been  put  into  full  and  active  operation,  this  rid- 
ing habit  had  reached  an  average  of  two  hundred  and  thirty 
rides  per  head  of  population  per  annum,  while  in  the  last 
year  for  which  returns  have  been  made  for  the  greater  city, 
wdiich  includes  a  great  deal  of  territory  where  the  density 
of  population  is  light,  this  riding  habit  had  increased  to 
three  hundred  and  sixty  rides  per  head  of  population  per 
annum.  The  patronage  of  rapid-transit  facilities,  indicated 
by  these  figures,  shows  the  great  necessity  for  which  such 
service  was  developed  and  produced. 

In  all  cities  that  have  undertaken  the  production  of  rapid- 
transit  service,  the  aim  has  been  to  connect  the  business  dis- 
trict of  the  city  with  the  outlying  suburban  district.  This 
furnishing  of  transportation  to  the  central  business  district 
of  a  city  undoubtedly,  to  a  large  extent,  fixes  the  location 
of  the  business  district  for  all  time.  The  benefit  to  the 
extension  and  development  of  the  outlying  and  suburban 
districts  has  been  very  marked  and  noticeable,  and  values 
have  necessarily  advanced  to  an  enormous  degree  in  such 
sections.  At  the  same  time  there  has  also  been  noticeable 
in  these  cities  a  very  distinct  depreciation  in  property  values 
in  certain  districts  immediately  exterior  to  the  concentrated 
business  section,  as  well  as  inability  to  utilize  such  proper- 
ties for  any  purj)ose.  A  correction  of  this  difficulty  can 
only  come  in  the  process  of  time,  as  the  business  district 
extends  and  expands  to  take  in  such  exterior  districts. 

To  jM-oducc  rapid  transit,  an  essenlial  factor  to  l)e  con- 
sidered in  construction  is  the  avoid.ance  of  irrade  crossin'^s 


320  CITY  PLANNING 

of  streets  or  of  the  tracks  of  its  own  railroads  or  other- 
railroads,  as,  due  to  the  close  headway  and  concentrated 
service  necessarily  operated  on  a  rapid-transit  railroad,  it 
is  only  by  the  elimination  of  such  grade  crossings  that  traffic 
can  be  safely  and  expeditiously  handled.  This  involves, 
therefore,  construction  on  some  other  plane  than  the  level 
of  the  street  or  public  places.  London  took  the  first  steps 
in  this  direction  by  constructing  underground  railroads,  and 
New  York  took  a  further  step  by  constructing  elevated 
railroads.  London  and  other  cities  have  also  constructed 
portions  of  their  rapid-transit  lines  on  embankments  or  in 
depressed  open  cuts.  In  many  cases,  steam  railroads,  which 
previously  existed  on  private  rights  of  way  at  surface 
grade,  have  been  reconstructed  and  additional  tracks  pro- 
vided upon  which  to  operate  rapid-trai.sit  service,  using 
electric  power  in  conjunction  with  the  general  operation  of 
the  steam  railroad.  In  these  cases,  the  electrification  has 
extended  from  city  terminals  to  points  immediately  without 
the  urban  district,  either  to  obviate  the  smoke  nuisance  or 
to  improve  the  local  service.  In  any  case,  in  the  recon- 
struction of  such  steam  railroads,  any  tracks  equipped  for 
rapid-transit  service  must  be  independent  of  the  tracks  used 
for  operation  of  through  trains,  either  in  freight  or  passen- 
ger service,  whether  such  are  operated  by  steam  power  or 
electric  power. 

In  reconsideration  of  a  city  plan  to  provide  for  rapid 
transit,  it  is  necessary,  first,  to  relocate  and  improve  the 
trunk  railroads,  as  those  structures  are  not  capable  of  the 
same  flexibility  in  treatment  as  rapid-transit  railroad  facili- 
ties. Generally  speaking,  it  can  be  assumed  that  a  properly 
built  and  equipped  railroad  track,  whether  on  surface  right 
of  way,  on  viaduct,  steel  structure,  or  in  subway,  is  capable 
of  doing  only  the  same  passenger  business,  or  in  other 
words,  can  serve  to  operate  the  same  number  of  passengers 
per  hour.     On  account  of  the  heavy  cost  of  operation  it  is 


J 
si 

Vi'i 
;u 

■E     Is: 

:  iff 


321 


322  CITY  PLANNING 

important,  with  light  traffic,  to  confine  the  cost  of  construc- 
tion and  equipment  to  the  lowest  point  possihle,  and  it  is 
also  susceptible  of  proof  that,  with  the  volume  of  traffic 
which  can  be  developed  from  a  city,  no  project  of  rapid 
transit  is  likely  to  be  a  profitable  one  unless  that  city  has  a 
population  of  somewhere  near  one  million  people.  In  other 
words,  this  indicates  that  unless  there  is  likely  to  be  forth- 
coming a  great  volume  of  concentrated  business,  particu- 
larly of  the  class  known  as  "short  haul,"  there  is  little 
justification  for  a  city  to  enter  into  rapid-transit  develop- 
ment unless  it  is  ready  to  burden  itself  with  large  bonded 
indebtedness  in  anticipation  of  extended  growth. 

The  production  of  structures  necessary  for  operating 
rapid-transit  service  involves  very  heavy  costs,  and  the  fol- 
lowing table  is  given  to  illustrate  the  average  cost  of  con- 
struction of  different  types  of  railroad  suited  to  rapid-transit 
service,  including  the  fixed  structural  equipment.  These 
figures  are  given  as  fair  average  costs  under  conditions 
which  would  govern  in  New  York  City.  They  do  not  in- 
clude the  cost  of  power  plants  and  power  distrilmtion,  roll- 
ing stock  or  operating  equipment,  nor  the  value  of  property 
for  rights  of  way  or  easement,  and  in  each  case  they  are 
given  on  the  basis  of  constructing  a  double-track  rail- 
road: 

COST  PER 
TYPES  OF  STRUCTURE  MILE  OF 

SINGLE 

{For  Double  Railway  Tracks)  track 
Trolley  railroad  in  suburban  district,  cither  on 
public  roads  or  private  rig^ht  of  way  where  no 
paving  is  required;  complete  with  overhead 
trolley  construction,  track  bonded;  all  in  oper- 
ating   condition $25,000. 

Trolley  railroad  on  city  streets,  including  asphalt 
or  granite  block  pavement   for  width  of   tracks 


EFFECT  OF  RAPID  TRANSIT  OX  CITY  PLAN     323 


TYPES  OF  STRUCTURE 

{For  Double  Railway  Tracks) 
and   2    feet    outside    of    tracls ;    com])letc    with 
overhead  trolley  construction,  track  bonded ;  all 
in  o])eratin<2;'  condition 

Underground  trolley  railroad  in  congested 
streets  of  a  city,  including  necessary  pavements, 
conduits,  etc.,  and  with  reasonable  allowance 
for  changes   of  subsurface   improvements: 

New    \'ork 

Washington    

Elevated  railroad  of  a  type  and  for  the  loading 
permissible  to  meet  requirements  of  Public 
Service  Commission  of  New  York ;  complete 
with  stations,  contact  rail,  ties,  and  track ;  in 
exterior  districts  of  New  York,  except  Borough 
of    Manhattan;    varying    with    local    conditions 

and   details  of   design From 

to 

Railroad  in  open  cut  similar  to  Sea  Beach  Rail- 
road of  Brooklyn  Rapid  Transit  Company  in 
Brooklyn,  where  work  is  executed  with  steam 
shovel  and  with  concrete  walls;  averaging  cost 
of  bridros  and  stations  as  part  of  the  cost; 
complete  with  contact  rail,  ties,  and  track; 
averages     

Railroad  on  masonry  viaduct  filled  in  with  stone 
ballast,  similar  to  structure  now  being  erected 
on  Queens  Boulevard  from  Queensboro  Bridge 
to  ( "irecn])oint,  on  Long  Island,  New  ^'ork ; 
comi)lete  with  stations,  contact  rail,  ties,  and 
track ;    averages     

Sul)\va\'  such  as  the  i'Ourlh  .Avenue  ."^uljuay  in 
Brooklvn,  where  work  is  unattected  ])y  sul)- 
surface  improvements,  where  the  digging  is 
easv    and    can    l>e    done    with    steam    sho\el    ;ind 


COST  PER 

MILE  OF 

SINGLE 

TRACK 


$42,000. 


126,000. 
48,500. 


125,000. 
1 75,000. 


225,000. 


330,000. 


324  CITY  PLANNING 

COST  PER 
TYPES  OF  STRUCTURE  MILE  OF 

SINGLE 

{For  Double  Railway  Tracks)  track 

under   typical    ideal    conditions;    complete    with 
structural  and  track  equipment;  averages $402,000. 

Subway  such  as  the  Broadway  Subway  now  be- 
ing constructed  in  Xew  York  City,  where  the 
work  is  very  difficult  and  involves  extreme  in- 
terference with  subsurface  improvements  of 
all  kinds,  the  support  of  street  surface,  trolley 
car  tracks,  underground  trolley  construction, 
etc. ;  complete  with  structural  and  track  equip- 
ment ;  averages   1,190,000. 

Iron-lined  tube  tunnels  under  waterways  or  be- 
low water  level ;  complete  with  structural  equip- 
ment and  track  ;  averages 2,700,000. 

In  cities  other  than  Xew  York,  where  the  soil  is  easier 
to  excavate,  where  the  streets  are  broad,  and  wdiere  there 
is  no  difficulty  in  changing  subsurface  improvements,  or  in 
outlying  districts  where  the  excavation  can  be  taken  out  by 
steam  shovel,  or  under  improved  local  conditions,  the  cost 
of  producing  these  structures  may  be  materially  changed. 

In  the  further  development  of  rapid-transit  service,  there 
has  become  apparent  the  need  of  fast  service  to  outlying 
districts  in  order  to  obtain  tlie  greatest  benefits  from  the 
facilities  provided.  The  earlier  railroads  constructed  for 
this  purpose  consisted  of  only  two  tracks.  Obviously,  then, 
no  better  speed  could  be  made  from  the  outlying  districts 
than  was  made  by  a  train  making  all  stoppages,  if  the 
service  was  operated  in  any  respect  near  the  capacity  of  the 
railroad.  The  spacing  of  stations  on  any  type  of  rapid- 
transit  railroad  is  an  important  factor  afl^ecting  train  opera- 
tion and  the  development  of  the  district.  The  desire  of 
those  engaged  in  operating  the  railroad,  viewed   from  the 


EFFFXT  OF  RAPID  TRANSIT  ON  CITY  PLAN     325 

interest  of  the  general  traveling  public,  is  to  increase  the 
distance  between  express  stops,  at  the  same  time  throwing  a 
more  equitable  burden  upon  the  local  trains.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  common  demand  by  property  owners  is  for  an 
increased  number  of  express  stations,  which  obviously 
reduces  the  average  cxi)ress  train  speed  and  thereby  lessens 
the  utility  of  the  service  to  be  yielded  to  the  public.  In 
the  earlier  rapid  transit  development  in  great  cities,  station 
stops  were  located  as  frequently  as  five  or  six  to  the  mile, 
and  even  with  the  high  acceleration  of  train  movement 
which  is  possible  with  electric  traction,  and  the  rapid  de- 
celeration obtained  by  modern  brake  equipment  on  cars, 
the  speed  which  can  be  obtained  in  service  is  very  limited. 
Steam  railroads  doing  suburban  service  had  instituted  ex- 
press service  to  and  from  the  more  distant  points  by  pro- 
viding express  tracks  and  local  tracks,  and  so  routing  the 
trains  that  they  might  operate  as  express  to  certain  fixed 
points  and  thereafter  cross  over  to  the  local  tracks  and 
serve  all  local  stopping  points  in  the  more  distant  districts. 
The  elevated  railroads  in  the  Borough  of  Manhattan,  New 
York,  developed  an  express-train  service  which  is  operated 
on  a  third  track  between  the  outer  districts  and  the  business 
district,  using  this  third  track  in  the  direction  of  the  maxi- 
mum travel — inwards  in  the  morning  and  outwards  in  the 
evening.  In  the  construction  of  the  first  subway  in  New 
York,  the  Rapid  Transit  Railroad  Commission  went  a  step 
further  and  provided  two  tracks  exclusively  for  express 
service  and  two  tracks  exclusively  for  local  service,  the 
express  tracks  in  these  cases  having  stations  approximately 
two  miles  apart  and  the  local  tracks  having  five  stations  to 
the  mile.  The  express  stations  are  used  l)y  passengers  for 
transferring  between  local  and  express  trains,  ])ermitting 
passengers  the  more  expeditiously  to  reach  tlieir  des- 
tination. This  plan  of  construction  and  operrUion  has  been 
carried  out  in  all  the  more  recent  lines.     It  should  not  be 


326  CITY  PLANNING 

forgotten  that  it  takes  a  very  heavy  and  dense  traffic  to 
warrant  more  than  a  two-track  city  transit  railway,  which 
is  the  standard  type  adopted  in  the  cities  of  Europe,  and 
New  York  City  is  the  only  place  in  America  with  an  under- 
ground city  transit  line  having  four  tracks,  although  Chi- 
cago has  elevated  lines  with  more  than  two  tracks. 

Owing  to  the  very  great  expense  involved  in  the  construc- 
tion of  subways  or  tube  tunnels,  various  cities  which  have 
introduced  structures  for  rapid  transit  have  developed  more 
or  less  composite  schemes  of  construction  adapted  to  their 
needs,  so  as  to  reduce  as  far  as  possible  the  average  cost 
of  producing  structures  suitable  to  the  service.  The  fol- 
lowing is  a  summary  of  the  several  types  of  such  structures : 

Tube  Tunnels. — In  cities  where  the  underlying  soil  is 
water  bearing,  or  where  it  is  imperative  that  construction 
should  be  carried  on  without  disturbing  the  surface,  tube 
tunnels — usually  carrying  a  single  track  within  each  tube — 
are  built  by  the  use  of  a  shield,  and  the  lining  constructed 
of  iron  or  steel  segmental  plates.  By  this  method  absolute 
safety  of  construction  is  assured  in  any  kind  of  soil,  and 
construction  may  be  carried  on  in  crowded  districts  without 
the  public  having  ocular  knowledge  that  such  work  is  in 
progress.  The  structure  is  self-contained  and,  having  very 
thin  walls,  it  can  be  utilized  in  narrow  thoroughfares.  This 
is  also  the  most  advantageous  type  of  construction  for  pass- 
ing under  waterways. 

Tunnels  and  Siibzvays. — By  "subway'"  is  meant  a  com- 
paratively shallow  type  of  underground  structure,  built 
open  from  the  surface,  tlie  surface  being  subsequently  re- 
stored to  its  original  condition.  The  cost  of  this  type  of 
construction  is  so  great  as  to  warrant  its  being  used  only 
in  districts  where  the  population  has  reached  a  condition  of 
practical  saturation,  or  in  commercial  districts  where  the 
population  enters  and  leaves  in  great  numbers.  Tunnel  sub- 
ways may  Ijc  l)uilt  by  tunneling  methods  deej)  below  the 


mMfimi 

III  III  Ul    I" 

>it  111111  H! 
Ill  iiibii 

IICnDCiLk,      ,g,{ 

etc  gi;.  Ill    i:ii 

xcaciGc^i 

tlMiiii.it 

lEI  Hi  CCI 
E!Ek«i>Seik:UtHltlC.  II 
ii.||liiilU(C   [Ji  et-S  l-iii.    '^^SSS  Hii.t 
M,,t^MAiiiiiiiiii   EiCY(t  C[|    EEErilUlji 

illlBlilEC>>|i'iii  (•(  iilEiiTEKIllKrUI 


13. 


ili«*.u.i^^&»i«»-" 


■^o.N    'J'i:kmixai.,    Xew     j'okk    Citv 


Ska   J-)i:\Lii   Lim:,    LIkooki.vx   Kaimd  TkAXdiT  Co, 


1-:FFECT  of  Ry\PID  TRANSFF  ON  CITY  PLAN     327 

surface,  and  even  in  tiers  if  the  traffic  of  a  city  warrants  it. 
In  such  cases  the  routes  taken  can  be  independent  of  the 
surface  topography  and  of  the  h"nes  of  streets,  passing 
under  private  property  upon  easement  for  transportation 
puri)osesonly.  This  proposition  for  Hmited  use  of  private 
property  necessitates  a  better  understanding  as  to  the  vahie 
of  easements  below  the  surface,  where  the  surface  property 
is  not  in  any  way  interfered  with  or  disturbed,  which  will 
enable  a  railroad  to  acquire  such  easements  at  reasonable 
expense  for  the  construction  of  high-speed  transit  service. 
The  subway  is  exemjit  from  all  difficulties  due  to  climatic 
conditions:  the  e(]uipment  is  protected  and  there  is  no  inter- 
ference from  exterior  conditions  ;  the  surface  of  the  ground 
remains  intact  and  free  for  any  development  required  for 
street  conditions. 

Opoi  Cut. — This  method  of  construction  necessitates  re- 
taining walls  and  construction  at  a  depth  which  will  enable 
highways  to  be  carried  over  such  ojkmi  cut  on  bridges.  The 
cost  is  less  than  for  subways,  and  passengers  travel  in 
greater  comfort.  One  advantage  over  an  elevated  line  is 
the  comparative  quietness  of  train  operation.  Such  a  struc- 
ture, however,  must  of  necessity  be  located  on  private 
property,  although,  if  a  street  is  of  great  width,  such  a 
structure  might  be  built  and  later,  as  the  city  grows,  be 
roofed  in  to  form  a  subway. 

I'iadiict. — Maduct.  with  masonry  and  solid  fill,  was  the 
earliest  ty])e  of  construction  of  steam  railroads  through 
Euroj)can  cities.  Tn  streets  it  forms  a  serious  obstruction. 
LT])on  private  right  of  way  it  had  advantages,  particularly 
in  qin"ctness  of  ()])eration  and  low  maintenance  cost. 

lUc7'atc(i  Railroads. — 'i'he  cost  of  a  steel  elevated  struc- 
ture is  reasonable.  Tn  a  narrow  street,  where  the  structure 
is  within  a  few  feet  of  the  houses  on  either  side,  an  elevated 
road  is  somewhat  of  a  nuisance,  but  built  on  a  broad  thor- 
ouglifare  it  is  not  really  objectiona])le,  and  the  noise  from 


328  CITY  PLANNING 

operation  may  be  reduced  by  building  a  solid  track  floor  of 
reenforced  concrete.  Notwithstanding  the  usual  objection 
to  these  structures,  the  record  in  New  York  and  Brooklyn 
is  that  property  values  have  appreciated,  and  have  main- 
tained their  appreciation,  to  a  greater  extent  along  elevated 
lines  than  nearby  and  adjacent  properties  where  there  are 
no  elevated  structures,  so  that  it  can  be  fairly  assumed 
there  is  no  material  property  disadvantage  in  the  construc- 
tion of  an  elevated  road.  Elevated  railroads  interfere  little 
with  the  street  surface  and  provide  rapid-transit  service  at 
the  smallest  cost,  thereby  enabling  suburban  districts  and 
districts  of  light  population  to  obtain  the  advantages  of 
rapid-transit  service  which  they  could  not  hope  to  obtain  if 
the  alternative  was  the  construction  of  subways  or  masonry 
viaducts. 

Until  a  city  has  grown  to  considerable  magnitude,  there 
is  no  necessity  for  the  provision  of  rapid-transit  service. 
During  this  growth  the  development  is  usually  along  the 
original  transportation  lines,  and  this  early  development 
is  influenced  largely  by  the  city's  topography.  Later  pro- 
vision of  transportation  for  distribution  must  necessarily 
follow  the  natural  earlier  development.  The  growth  of  a 
city  is  usually  irregular  in  plan,  and  the  later  provision  of 
rapid  transit  consequently  becomes  more  difficult  to  apply. 
In  the  growth  of  a  city  the  business  area  and  district  have 
probably  been  of  narrow  extent  with  considerable  conges- 
tion. Provision  of  rapid-transit  facilities  in  a  small  area 
of  congestion  is  liable  to  increase  that  congestion  rather 
than  relieve  it.  and  the  centering  of  rapid-transit  facilities 
upon  a  l)usiness  district  should  be  provided  not  to  a  single 
point,  but  to  a  numljcr  of  points  covering  a  considerable 
and  extended  area,  so  that  the  lines  of  travel  may  tend  to 
increase  the  dimensions  of  the  area  of  business  congestion. 
The  theoretically  ])crfcct  provision  for  rapid  transit  in  a 


]d.l".VATi:i)      1\A1  I.KOAD.     Sl'll'.L     SlKTC   T  l' KK 


l-:i'FRCT  OF  RAPID  TRy\NSIT  ON  CITY  PLAN     329 

city  would  take  the  l)iisincss  district  as  a  central  circle  and 
radiate  from  that  district,  in  every  direction,  lines  having 
larfj^e  facilities  nearer  to  the  central  circle  and  tapering  out 
to  lesser  facilities  in  the  outlying  sulnirhan  district,  effecting 

v^hat,  in  diagraninialic  form,  would  he  a  star    ^^     with 


many  jjoints.  To  ohtain  this  a  general  rectilinear  layout 
for  city  streets,  with  hroad  diagonal  avenues  radiating  in 
straight  lines  from  the  central  section,  appears  to  yield  the 
most  perfect  results.  In  a  growing  city  it  is  desirahle,  as 
early  as  possihle,  to  plan  for  such  a  result.  Large  hreadth 
of  street  is  necessary  for  surface  travel  as  well  as  for  future 
l)rovision  of  rai)id  transit,  and  within  the  arms  of  the  star 
the  landscape  architect  could  have  free  hand  in  developing 
an  irregular  and  artistic  design  of  streets,  which  may  he 
desirahle  for  local  conditions. 

In  preparing  a  city  plan  for  future  development  of  rapid 
transit,  it  should  he  home  in  mind  that  for  a  four-track 
suhway  a  street  of  100  feet  width  is  necessary,  while  a  two- 
track  suhway  can  he  accommodated  in  a  street  of  75  feet 
width.  Street  provision  for  elevated  railroads  should,  on 
account  of  light  and  air  and  other  easements,  allow  80 
feet  width  for  two  tracks,  100  feet  width  for  three  tracks, 
and  120  feet  width  for  any  possihle  four-track  structure. 

Straight  streets  for  rapid-transit  facilities  are  most  de- 
sirahle, although  curves  having  easy  radius  are  not  par- 
ticularly ohjectionahle  in  operation  nor  do  they  add  very 
aj)precial)ly  to  the  initial  cost.  It  must  he  noted,  however, 
that  the  o])eration  of  each  new  provision  for  ra])id-transit 
or  transportation  facilities,  changes  the  character  of  a  city's 
growth  and  tlK're])y  materially  affects  the  development  of 
a  city's  ])lan,  and  advances  in  the  art  of  trans])ortation  may 
ha\e  tlie  same  effect.  As  an  illustration,  when  New  ^'ork 
City  was  laid  out,  the  waterways  were  the  main  arteries 
of  travel  and  the  cross  streets  were  laid  out  at  sliorl  inter- 


330  CITY  PLANNING 

vals,  while  the  north  and  south  thoroughfares  were  laid  out 
at  long  intervals.  Water  transportation  has  become  almost 
an  unimportant  factor,  and  the  street  plan  in  consequence 
is  far  from  the  best  for  the  present  development. 

In  the  development  of  a  city's  plan,  the  entire  elimination 
of  any  terminals  for  rapid-transit  service  within  the  business 
district  should  be  considered  essential,  as  operating  lines 
should  extend  in  from  the  outer  districts,  pass  through  the 
business  district,  and  extend  out  again  to  the  exterior  sec- 
tion of  the  city.  True  facilities  for  transportation  within  a 
city  are  best  obtained  by  the  provision  of  main  straight 
arteries  for  rapid-transit  service  from  a  central  district  to 
the  outlying  suburbs,  and  from  the  various  stopping  points 
on  these  radial  lines  provision  for  local  and  subsidiary  dis- 
tribution should  be  by  means  of  surface  cars,  motor  busses, 
etc.,  but  such  a  theoretically  typical  plan  must  of  necessity 
be  largely  modified  by  the  conditions  which  develop  in  each 
case,  which  have  to  be  treated  and  must  be  largely  influenced 
by  the  local  topography  of  each  individual  scheme  pre- 
sented. 

Bibliography 

Arnold,  Bion  J.  Report  on  the  Engineering  and  Operating 
Features  of  the  Chicago  Transportation  Problem.  Chi- 
cago, 1902.     2  vols. 

.  Report  on  the  Pittsburgh  Transportation  Problem.  Pitts- 
burgh, 1910.     202  pp.   (maps  and  diagrams). 

Baker,  Sir  Benjamin.  The  Metropolitan  and  Metropolitan 
District  Railways.  Minutes  of  Proceedings  of  Institution 
of  Civil  Engineers,  Ixxxi,  p.  i. 

Barry,  Sir  John  Wolfe.  The  City  Lines  and  Extensions  (In- 
ner Circle  Completion)  of  the  Metropolitan  and  District 
Railways.  Minutes  of  Proceedings  of  Institution  of  Civil 
Engineers,  Ixxxi,   p.  34. 

BiETTi:,  L.     The  Metropolitan   System  of  Paris.     International 


EFFECT  OF  RAPID  TRANSIT  ON  CITY  PLAN     331 

Engineering  Congress,    1904.     Transactions  of  American 
Society  of  Civil  Engineers,  liv,  part  F,  p.  299. 
liuKcii.    lunvAki)    P.     IHectric    Traction    for    Railway    Trains. 

S^?>  PP- 

CooPKK,  1'"kki)i:rick  E.  The  Underground  Railways  of  Lon- 
don,    liiujinecring  Magazine,  xv,  September,  1898,  p.  928. 

Daviks,  John  Vipond.  Construction  of  the  Tunnel  System  of 
the  Hudson  and  Manhattan  Railroad.  Railroad  Age  Ga- 
zette, September  17,  24,  October  i,  8,  15,  22,  1909.     27  pp. 

.     Extensions  of  the  Hudson  River  Tunnels  of  the  Hudson 

and  Manhattan  Railroad.  Minutes  of  Proceedings  of  In- 
stitution of  Civil  Engineers,  cxcvii,  1914,  p.  185. 

Glasgow  Central  Railway.  Minutes  of  Proceedings  of  Insti- 
tulion   of  Cii'il  Engineers,  cxiv,  p.  340. 

Glasgow  City  and  District  Railway.  Minutes  of  Proceedings 
of  Institution  of  Civil  Engineers,  xcii,  p.  288. 

Hakdixc,  C.  Francis.     Electric  Railway  Engineering.    336  pp. 

Harkness,  Lkroy  T.  The  Dual  System  Contracts  in  Their 
Relation  to  the  Rapid  Transit  History  of  New  York  City. 
Proceedings  of  Municipal  Engineers  of  the  City  of  Neiv 
York,  19 1 3,  p.  221. 

Hay,  David,  and  Mott,  Ba.sii,.  L^nderground  Railways  in 
Great  Britain.  International  Engineering  Congress,  1904. 
Transactions  of  American  Society  of  Civil  Engineers,  liv, 
part   F,  p.  325. 

IIoijart,  H.  M.     ]''lectric  Trains.     201  pp. 

HooKKR,  GEORtiE  Ellswortii.  Through  Routes  for  Chicago's 
Steam  Railroads.     Chicago,  1914.     89  pp. 

Jacoi'.s,  Ciiaki.es  Mattatiiias.  The  Hudson  Ri,-cr  Tunnels  of 
the  Hudson  and  Manhattan  Railroad.  Proceedings  of  In- 
stitution  of  Civil  Engineers,  clxxxi. 

Maltiue,  M.  R.  Transportation  and  City  Planning.  Pro- 
ceedings of  I'ifth  National  Conferoice  on  City  Plaiuting, 
1913.  PI).    107-119. 

I'arso.n.s,  W'li.iiA.M  Barclay.  The  New  \uvk  Rapid  Transit 
Suliwa}-.  MiiiuU's  of  Proceedings  of  Inslitiilion  of  Civil 
Engineers,  clxxiii,    1908. 

I'arsoxs.   William    Barclay.      I'lulcrground    Railwavs   in   the 


332  CITY  PLANNING 

United  States.  International  Engineering  Congress,  1904. 
Transactions  of  American  Society  of  Civil  Engineers,  liv, 
part  F,  p.  349. 

Philadelphia,  City  of.  Report  of  Transit  Commission.  1913. 
2  vols. 

Snyder,  George  Duncan.  Notes  on  City  Passenger  Transpor- 
tation in  the  United  States.  Minutes  of  Proceedings  of  In- 
stitution of  Civil  Engineers,  cxciii,  p.  168. 

WiTTiG,  Paul.  Die  Weltstadte  und  der  elektrische  Schnellver- 
kehr.  Nach  dem  Vortrag  im  Berliner  Architekten  Verein 
am  13.  Mars,  1909.     Berlin,  1909.    78  pp. 


CHAPTER   XV 
RESIDENTIAL    AND    INDUSTRIAL    DECENTRALIZATION 

Concentration  of  population  in  urban  areas  has  increased 
at  a  rai)i(l  rate  during  the  past  century.  Tlie  population  of 
cities  has  grown  in  part  from  births  to  the  indigenous  popu- 
lation. I  kit  the  invention  and  production  within  the  cities 
of  agricultural  machinery  and  other  labor-saving  devices 
ha\e  made  possible  a  growth  of  the  urban  population  at  the 
expense  of  the  rural.  The  superior  social  and  industrial 
op])ortunities  of  cities  have  brought  a  continuous  stream  of 
people  from  country  to  city.  Furthermore  about  three- 
quarters  ^  of  America's  immigrants  from  Europe  have  set- 
tled in  cities.  Eew  municipalities  have  planned  intelligently 
for  this  rapid  url)an  growth.  lUiildings  have  l)een  crowded 
upon  the  land,  and  people  have  been  crowded  within  the 
buildings.  I'rban  living  has  become  in  many  ways  incon- 
venient, unsafe,  and  unhealthful. 

As  each  urban  community  grows,  new  buildings  are 
erected  on  old  house  lots  or  the  homes  of  its  original  or  semi- 
rural  citizens  are  "converted"'  for  use  l)y  several  families. 
C^ften,  also,  barns  and  other  outl)uildings  are  made  over 
for  housing  purposes,  or  the  old  buildings  are  torn  down  and 
disj)laced  l)y  tenement  houses,  j'lach  worker  in  local  trades 
and  industries  desires  to  be  close  to  his  work.  T^-ansit 
facilities  fail  to  develop  nuu-h  in  advance  of  demonstrable 

'  In  HMO,  7j,i  pel  (■(.•III.  iif  (lur  ft/ni.^n-lmrn  ixipulatioii  wrrr  li\in,u; 
in  nrlian  ciMiitmniitics  ( incdrijnrritcil  places  of  over  2.500  popula- 
tiuii).     .\l)slracl  of    I  liirlcentli  C\n>us,  p.  2(K>. 

333 


334  CITY  PLANNING 

need,  so  the  population  becomes  crowded  within  a  hmited 
area,  and  becomes  accustomed  to  living  on  streets  which  are 
paved  and  treeless,  and  in  houses  which  are  bare,  monoto- 
nous, and  depressing.  It  becomes  used  to  living  a  life  quite 
divorced  from  nature.  The  responsibilities  of  home  owner- 
ship are  felt  only  by  the  few.  The  sense  of  citizenship  and 
the  sense  of  moral  responsibility  for  evils  suffered  by  neigh- 
bors become  weak.  The  product  is  a  race  increasingly 
artificialized,  selfish,  and  apathetic. 

In  the  interests  of  both  hygiene  and  public  morality,  the 
cottage  home  is  very  much  to  be  preferred  to  the  tenement 
dwelling.  When  an  urban  population  lives  in  tenement 
houses,  large  numbers  of  persons  are  crowded  within  a 
limited  area,  which  involves  a  continuous  traffic,  through 
the  tenement  streets,  of  residents  and  their  visitors,  and 
for  the  delivery  of  goods.  The  traffic  is  noisy,  which  fa- 
tigues the  nerves  of  sensitive  tenement  dwellers.  It  further 
stirs  up  a  large  amount  of  dust  consisting  of  mineral  and 
organic  matter  prejudicial  to  the  health  of  persons  that 
breathe  it.  The  common  hallways,  cellars,  and  yards  of  the 
tenement  house  serve  as  a  medium  of  transmission  of  many 
of  the  diseases  of  the  families  congregated  there.  This 
danger  is  reduced  somewhat  by  providing  windows  to  light 
and  ventilate  the  halls,  but  is  not  eliminated,  because  many 
portions  are  remote  from  the  sun's  rays,  and  quite  inade- 
quately aerated.  Tuberculosis  is  responsible  for  nearly 
one-tenth  of  all  deaths  in  the  United  States,  destroying  life 
usually  between  the  ages  of  twenty  and  forty,  at  tlie  period 
of  greatest  productivity.  The  tubercle  bacillus  can  live  for 
weeks  outside  the  human  body  in  a  sunless,  damp  room, 
hall,  or  cellar.  The  tenement  house  frequently  contains 
germs  of  tuberculosis  in  large  numl)ers,  and  they  may  be 
borne  in  the  dust  of  the  hall  to  the  lungs  of  fresh  victims. 
The  tenement  house  may  thus  at  once  reduce  vitality, 
through  relative  absence  of  sunlight  and  fresh  air,  and  may 


RESIDENTIAL  DECENTRALIZATION  335 

provide  abundant  opportunity  for  transmission  of  prevalent 
and  dangerous  diseases. 

Tenement  houses,  furthermore,  do  not  insure  that  privacy 
which  is  essential  to  the  highest  degree  of  human,  mental 
or  moral  develoi)ment.  Tenements  are  constructed  close 
together,  so  that  the  atit'airs  of  one  family  arc  readily  vis- 
ible from  the  windows  of  neighboring  apartments.  Privacy 
can  be  secured  only  by  shutting  windows  and  closing  cur- 
tains— at  the  sacrifice,  that  is,  of  light  and  air,  which  are 
indispensable  elements  for  maximum  functional  health. 
Solitude  is  difficult  to  secure  even  in  the  better-class  apart- 
ment houses,  where  one  is  close  to  the  sounds  of  musical 
instruments  or  other  noises  of  many  neighboring  families. 
The  most  serious  indictment  against  the  tenement  house  is, 
liowever,  that  it  makes  impossible  proper  supervision  of 
children  by  parents.  The  child  for  its  own  health  must  play 
out  of  doors.  But  when  the  tenement  child  leaves  its  apart- 
ment, it  is  beyond  parental  supervision,  may  associate  with 
any  of  the  persons,  desirable  or  undesirable,  that  the  tene- 
ment house  or  tenement  street  may  have  brought  together. 
Its  choice  of  games,  like  its  choice  of  playmates,  is  beyonrl 
parental  control,  and  its  time  is  likely  to  be  spent  in  harm- 
ful ways. 

The  cottage  home  does  not  share  these  disadvantages. 
On  cottage  streets  the  amount  of  necessary  traffic  and. 
thereby,  of  noise  and  dust,  is  very  much  less  than  prevails 
in  tenement  quarters.  There  is  no  common  hall  through 
which  to  share  in  the  diseases  of  neighboring  families. 
Mach  home  is  insulated  by  open  space.  Fire  and  accident 
dangers  are  also  less  in  the  cottage  home.  The  amount  of 
available  privacy  is  increased,  for  ncighl)oring  families  live 
farther  apart,  and  they  may  have  at  the  same  time  solitude, 
light,  and  air.  Alost  important,  however,  is  the  opportunity 
provided  for  the  motlier,  tlie  chief  agent  of  moral  educa- 
tion of  tlie  young  of  tlie   race,   to  sujH'rvisc   her  children, 


336  CITY  PLANNING 

who  may  play  in  an  open  back  yard,  with  associates  known 
to  the  mother,  and  at  games  chosen  or  watched  by  the 
mother  while  she  is  at  work  in  her  kitchen.  The  cottage 
dwelling  also  makes  it  possible  for  the  breadwinner  to 
develop  a  garden  outside  of  working  hours,  which  gives 
relief  in  most  cases  from  the  day's  work,  makes  possible 
the  raising  of  fresh  vegetables,  often  at  a  cost  less  than 
that  entailed  in  purchase  from  the  markets,  and  provides 
opportunity  as  well  for  nature  education  for  the  children. 
Not  less  important  is  the  fact  that  the  cottage  home  when 
owned  tends  to  develop  in  the  family  a  sense  of  responsibil- 
ity, both  for  its  own  premises  and  for  the  neighborhood  in 
which  it  dwells.  This  sense  of  responsibility  reacts  in  local 
politics  to  the  advantage  of  the  community  by  rendering 
its  citizens  more  conscientious  in  both  private  and  public 
action. 

There  are  two  groups  of  social  policies  which  are  espe- 
cially important  as  means  of  inducing  industrial  workers 
of  our  cities  to  live  in  cottage  homes.  The  first  of  these 
may  be  termed  industrial  decentralization ;  the  second,  resi- 
dential decentralization.  The  policy  of  industrial  decen- 
tralization involves  measures  to  remove  factories  and  work- 
shops from  cities  to  suburbs  or  to  the  open  country.  Resi- 
dential decentralization  involves  the  measures  which  remove 
city  dwellers  to  suburbs,  or  to  small  towns,  villages,  or 
farms.  A  policy  of  residential  decentralization  might,  there- 
fore, include  all  measures  within  the  city  which  penalize 
tenement  construction — e,  g.,  laws  requiring  the  tenement 
houses  to  be  fireproof  throughout  but  permitting  frame 
construction  of  single-family  dwellings — measures  which 
promote  cheap  and  rapid  transit,  measures  which  reduce  the 
purchase  price  of  suburban  land,  measures  which  facilitate 
the  borrowing  of  money  cheaply  for  cottage  construction, 
and  "back-to-tlie-land"  movements. 

The  industrial  opportunities  which  cities  afford  constitute 


RESIDENTIAL  DECENTRALIZATION  337 

one  of  the  chief  causes  of  rapid  growth  in  America.  Manu- 
facturers have  estabhshed  their  plants  in  cities  chiefly  be- 
cause there  they  were  close  to  the  labor  market,  to  transpor- 
tation facilities,  and  to  the  consumer.  Both  the  unemployed 
and  the  ambitious  move  to  cities  because  the  opportunities 
for  regular  employment  there  seem  greater.  This  industrial 
population  has  been  largely  responsible  for  the  unhealthy 
crowding  of  American  cities.  If  these  industries  could  be 
removed  from  communities  now  crowded,  to  open  land,  if 
new  industries  could  also  be  induced  to  establish  themselves 
in  open  country,  and  if  the  industrial  population  could  be 
enticed  from  the  city  to  these  new  industrial  villages,  the 
characteristic  housing  ills  of  America  would  be  largely  re- 
duced. 

There  are  many  arguments  of  an  economic  character  for 
industrial  decentralization.  Factory  land  in  cities  is  very 
expensive ;  land  can  be  had  for  industrial  uses  in  suburbs 
or  in  the  open  country  at  slight  cost — sometimes  at  no  cost. 
Communities  may  be  chosen  where  tax  rates  are  lower  than 
in  the  city,  and  often  a  rural  board  of  trade  will  find  it 
advantageous  to  give  the  land  and  remit  taxes  for  a  period 
of  years,  for  an  incoming  industry.  Transportation  facili- 
ties for  the  products  of  some  industries  are  unquestionably 
better  in  the  cities,  but  this  relative  advantage  in  favor  of 
the  urban  community  may  disappear  when  special  tracks 
are  constructed  on  the  outer  boundaries  of  our  cities,  con- 
necting large  railway  systems.  In  an  urban  center,  most 
industries  must  charge  a  large  fraction  of  their  gross  income 
each  year  to  the  transportation  of  goods  to  and  from  the 
freight  yard,  for  expense  of  drivers  and  vehicles,  for  waste 
and  breakage  occasioned  l)y  much  handling,  etc. — expenses 
which  may  be  eliminated  altogether  when  the  industrial 
estal)lishment  is  situated  l)y  a  spur  track,  where  it  may  load 
the  freight  cars  at  its  very  door.  Labor  costs  may  be  lower 
in  the  rural  community,  if  labor  is  less  well  uniom'zed  than 


338  CITY  PLANNING 

in  the  city,  or  if  the  cost  of  Hving  is  lower.  If  industrial 
decentralization  is  accompanied  by  residential  decentrali- 
zation as  well,  if  the  tenement  dwellers  of  the  city  are  moved 
into  cottage  homes  with  gardens,  the  health,  contentment, 
efficiency,  and  permanence  of  labor  may  be  greater  in  the 
industrial  village  than  in  the  city,  which  will  result  in  re- 
duced loss  to  the  employer  from  irregular  work  and  from 
slackness  in  work. 

The  program  of  industrial  decentralization  is  not  one 
easily  applied  to  all  industries.  Its  actuation  depends  upon 
the  nature  of  the  industry,  the  size  of  its  urban  environ- 
ment, the  availability  of  labor  supply,  and  various  other 
factors.  Industries  which  cater  to  the  citizens  of  but  a 
single  city,  such  as  laundries,  tailor  shops,  dressmaking  es- 
tablishments and  millinery  shops  must  remain  in  the  city 
to  be  close  to  the  consumer,  or  will  in  any  case  be  among 
the  last  to  move.  The  seasonal  trades  must  be  close  to  a 
large  labor  supply,  and  cannot  generally  move  to  rural  com- 
munities until,  at  least,  an  effective  system  of  national  labor 
exchanges  is  established.  Industries  which  have  already 
invested  largely  in  urban  property  will  also  find  it  difficult 
to  uproot  and  reestablish  in  the  open  country.  The  process 
of  industrial  decentralization  is,  therefore,  necessarily  slow, 
but  the  aim  is  nevertheless  important,  and  can  be  promoted 
by  national  and  state  organizations  or  commissions  for  the 
improvement  of  housing,  as  well  as  by  suburban  and  rural 
boards  of  trade. 

Industrial  decentralization  unaccompanied  by  residential 
decentralization  is  of  slight  value  in  meeting  the  housing 
problem.  Graham  Romcyn  Taylor,  in  "Satellite  Cities,'' 
shows  a  numl)cr  of  cases  in  the  Middle  West,  in  which  in- 
dustrial workers  have  remained  city  residents,  traveling  daily 
to  and  from  the  rural  place  of  work.  This  is  altogether  un- 
fortunate and  unnecessary.  Experience  proves  that  it  is 
possible  to  develop  industrial  villages  as  units,  applying  the 


KI'ISTDKXTIAL  DFXI^XTRAIJZATIDX  339 

best  of  city-i)lanning  principles  to  their  construction,  and  that 
it  is  possible  to  house  the  employees  in  homes  that  are  hy- 
gienic, artistic,  and  private.  l>ut  to  do  this,  it  is  essential 
either  that  the  em{)loyer  of  labor  himself  buy  up  from  fifty 
to  several  hundred  acres  about  his  own  factory,  or  that  this 
be  done  by  some  special  organization  of  citizens.  The  first 
method  only  has  been  tried  out  on  an  extensive  scale  in 
America. 

Experience  demonstrates  that  employers  of  labor  can 
buy  large  tracts  at  a  very  small  cost  per  acre,  and  that  they 
can,  with  the  assistance  of  competent  city  planners,  subdi- 
vide this  land  and  plat  it,  with  winding  residential  streets 
served  by  accessible  commercial  and  social  centers,  at  a 
slight  cost  per  lot.  They  can  design  cottages  for  the  whole 
area  or  a  fraction  thereof,  and  build  them  at  one  time,  in- 
volving purchase  of  material  by  the  carload  or  train  load 
from  wholesaler  or  manufacturer,  at  low  cost  per  unit, 
thus  providing  well-equipj)ed  cottage  homes  in  a  pleasant 
industrial  village  at  a  rental  which  the  worker  can  afford 
to  pay. 

When  an  employer  undertakes  to  house  his  employees  in 
such  villages,  it  is  generally  wise  for  him  to  build  some 
houses  to  rent,  and  others  to  sell  on  easy  installments — 
payments  running  over  a  twenty-year  period  or  longer.  He 
should  also  reserve  a  few  of  the  house  lots  unbuilt,  which 
he  may  sell  on  easy  terms  to  employees  who  wish  to  design 
and  construct  their  own  homes.  The  emjiloyer  should 
be  careful  to  permit  his  employees  to  choose  whether  they 
will  rent  or  buy,  and  should  compel  no  employee,  directly 
or  indirectly,  to  live  in  his  houses.  If  he  })ermits  them  to 
live  wherever  they  please,  they  will  have  no  occasion  to  feel 
themselves  the  victims  of  patronage,  or  in  any  undesirable 
sense  subservient  to  their  employer.  An  employer  who 
res])ects  the  individuality  of  his  emplovee  in  this  way  is 
not  likely  to  suffer  largely  from  labor  troubles. 


340  CITY  PLANNING 

One  other  means  of  industrial  decentralization  has  been 
tried  in  England.  A  book  by  Ebenezer  Howard  called 
"Garden  Cities  of  Tomorrow,"  first  published  in  1898 
under  the  title  "Tomorrow,"  urged  the  establishment  of 
industrial  cities  of  limited  population  by  limited  dividend 
corporations  of  public-spirited  citizens.  Howard  recom- 
mended that  such  cities  be  limited  to  a  population  of  about 
32,000.  Each  was  to  be  surrounded  by  a  belt  of  agricul- 
tural land ;  the  number  of  houses  per  acre  in  the  industrial 
quarter  was  to  be  limited  in  each  city.  The  land  was  to 
be  the  property  not  of  the  employer  who  moves  his  factory 
to  the  garden  city,  but  was  to  be  held  by  trustees  with  the 
proviso  that  the  land  might  become  the  property  at  will  of 
the  citizens  of  the  community.  Howard  hoped  by  promot- 
ing the  establishment  of  such  garden  cities  to  decentralize 
industry,  to  cause  the  abandonment  of  old  cities,  and  to 
secure  for  every  citizen  of  England  the  advantages  both  of 
rural  life — fresh  air,  cottage  homes,  and  gardens — and  of 
city  life — good  schools,  churches,  theaters,  and  social  centers. 

In  1903,  3,818  acres  of  land  were  secured  about  thirty 
miles  out  from  London,  at  Letchworth,  England.  This  land 
was  purchased  by  the  Garden  City  Pioneer  Co.,  Limited, 
at  £40  an  acre.  The  Pioneer  Co.  then  dissolved,  and  the 
First  Garden  City,  Limited,  which  now  owns  the  land  on 
which  the  city  is  built,  was  created.  The  constitution  of 
this  society  provides  that  dividends  of  only  five  per  cent, 
shall  be  paid  on  shares,  and  provides  further  that  the  citi- 
zens of  Garden  City  may  purchase  these  shares  and  own 
their  town  whenever  they  so  desire.  A  special  quarter  in 
this  city  is  reserved  for  factories,  so  situated  that  the  pre- 
vailing winds  will  carry  smoke  away  from  residences.  The 
factory  zone  is  hidden  from  the  rest  of  the  town  by  a  hill, 
and  is  crossed  by  a  railway  which  runs  direct  from  London 
to  Cambridge.  Already  more  than  thirty  factory  owners 
have  been   induced  to  establish  their  plants  in  this  town. 


RESIDENTIAL  DECENTRALIZATION 


341 


I'art   of    Li  I  riiw  orth    (Iakdi-.x    Cii'v,    1'"n(;i.ani) 


Over  two-tliirds  of  the  outlyiiis:^  arcri  is  reserved  for  a 
pernianenl  agricultural  helt  which  shall  ])ro\i(le  fresh  food 
for  the  city  and  share  in  its  social  life.     The  present  i)0])U- 


342  CITY  PLANNING 

lation  consists  of  about  8,000  people,  housed  in  cottages 
detached,  semi-detached,  or  in  rows.  The  maximum  num- 
ber of  houses  which  may  be  erected  per  acre  is  twelve,  thus 
providing  a  generous  garden  for  each  house.  In  addition 
allotment  gardens  may  be  rented  by  any  householder.  Rents 
for  houses  and  land  are  low,  and  industrial  workers  are  all 
much  better  housed  than  in  the  city.  The  town  is  beauti- 
fully planned  and  well  kept,  and  its  citizens  public-spirited. 
By  the  application  of  Howard's  scheme  a  decentralized  in- 
dustrial community  is  established,  providing  all  of  the  ad- 
vantages of  the  industrial  village  owned  by  employers  of 
labor,  and  none  of  the  disadvantages.  This  method  has  not 
been  widely  tried  as  yet,  but  is  promising,  and  is  important 
enough  to  warrant  careful  trial  in  America  under  the  guid- 
ance of  a  competent  body  of  citizens,  conscious  of  the 
urgency  of  this  problem. 

The  policy  of  residential  decentralization  is  important 
in  our  cities,  whether  industry  is  decentralized  or  not.  If 
industries  should  be  moved  out  of  cities  and  the  workers 
should  follow,  the  problem  of  residential  decentralization 
for  the  rest  of  the  urban  population  would  become  relatively 
simple,  for  a  large  amount  of  accessible  land  would  be 
rendered  available  for  a  limited  population.  But  whether 
industries  are  removed  or  not,  it  is  important  for  a  city 
convinced  of  the  relative  superiority  of  the  cottage  home 
to  promote  cottage  dwelling  by  special  measures.  Obviously 
the  city  workman  cannot  generally  live  in  a  cottage  home  in 
the  suburbs  unless  he  can  go  from  his  home  to  his  work  in 
a  period  of  half  an  hour  or  less.  Also,  he  cannot  ordinarily 
live  in  a  cottage  home  if  his  rent  or  his  monthly  payment 
of  interest,  amortization,  etc.,  toward  house  acquisition  will 
cost  him  more,  daily  carfare  included,  than  the  rent  of 
equivalent  accommodation  in  a  tenement  house  in  the  city.^ 

*  Exceptions  are  various.  If  there  is  less  sickness  in  the  suburbs 
he  can  pay  a   rent  equivalent   to  his  city   rent  phis  his   savini,'s  on 


ri>:sii:)J-:ntial  decentralization         343 

The  question  is  somewhat  more  compHcated  than  would 
appear  from  the  above  statement,  for  often  many  members 
of  a  working  family  are  engaged  in  work  in  the  city,  in 
wliich  case  the  location  of  the  home  must  be  determined  with 
reference  to  the  needs  of  those  members  who  work  farthest 
away  or  for  the  longest  hours.  The  absence  of  social  ad- 
vantages in  suburbs  also  impedes  suburban  living.  Hence, 
a  factor  in  the  solution  of  this  problem  must  be  the  pro- 
vision of  accessible  educational  and  recreational  facilities 
for  all  age  and  sex  groups  of  the  population  in  the  resi- 
dential suburb. 

To  make  suburban  residences  accessible,  it  is  important 
to  devise  cheap  and  rapid  transit  to  all  outlying  portions  of 
our  cities  that  are  fit  for  use  as  residential  districts.  It  is 
important  for  this  reason,  as  well  as  for  vehicular  traffic, 
to  have  direct,  broad  radial  streets  from  the  commercial, 
industrial,  and   social   centers  of  the  city  to  the  suburbs. 

The  cost  of  suburban  homes  as  generally  constructed  in 
America,  is  prohibitive  for  the  working  classes.  The  houses 
are  built  singly,  at  retail  prices  for  materials,  labor,  and 
loans,  often  by  men  ill  ac([uainted  witli  the  means  of  reduc- 
ing construction  costs ;  they  are  built  on  lots  of  ill-adapted 
shapes,  purchased  from  land  speculators  at  excessive  prices, 
and  upon  streets  unnecessarily  wide  and  expensive  in  tiieir 
construction.  To  reduce  house  costs  it  is  necessary,  tliere- 
fore,  first  to  cheapen  land  costs.  This  may  l)e  accomplished 
in  part  by  zoning,  e.  g.,  the  establishment  of  purely  resi- 
dential districts,  for  districting  limits  the  speculative  value 
of  land.  It  may  be  accomplished  further  bv  cheapening 
street  costs  l)y  ])lanning  narrow,  semi-rural  roadways  in 
])urcly    residential    districts,    and    l)y    designing    house    lots 

dnctdis'  l)ills.  In  the  stihiirlts  kss  may  \)v  paid  fnr  vcj^ctahlcs, 
drink,  dress,  anuiscnicnts,  etc.;  that  which  is  saved  in  tliesc  ways — 
if  tliere  is  no  compensating  increase  in  sul)nrl>an  li\ing  costs  and 
income  remains   tlie  same — may  l)e  api)He(l  t(.)   rental. 


344  CITY  PLANNING 

somewhat  shallower  than  those  now  provided  in  typical 
American  cities.  Land  may  often  be  cheapened,  also,  by 
taxing  vacant  land  at  the  same  value  as  neighboring  im- 
proved land — taxing  it,  that  is,  for  its  potential  value  in  use. 
The  low  tax  rates  upon  vacant  land  today  serve  as  an  in- 
ducement to  the  land  speculator  to  hold  his  land  idle.  If  the 
valuations  on  this  land  were  increased,  landowners  would 
compete  to  sell  their  land,  thus  somewhat  reducing  the  cost 
per  house  lot.  The  cost  of  borrowed  money  may  be  reduced 
per  house  where  large  corporations  are  borrowers  and  large 
sums  are  sought  for  extensive  operations.  Or  money  might 
be  loaned  by  city  or  state  governments  to  individuals  or  co- 
operative associations  of  tenants,  following  European  prece- 
dent, provided  this  policy  promised  to  accomplish  good  re- 
sults which  would  outweigh  the  evils  involved  in  systems 
of  governmental  subsidization.  Suburban  estates,  however 
financed,  should  be  planned  by  expert  city  planners  and 
built  with  all  the  economics  of  large-scale  operations  in  the 
purchase  of  materials  and  labor. 

There  are  four  important  forms  of  social  organization 
which  may  be  utilized  for  the  large-scale  development  of 
suburban  estates :  ( i )  The  commercial  agency,  which  de- 
velops such  estates  for  profit  to  the  exploiter;  (2)  the  phil- 
anthropic agency,  which  develops  such  estates  primarily  for 
the  interest  of  the  tenant,  and  which  does  not  seek  to  make 
money  upon  its  investment;  (3)  the  cooperative  agency, 
through  which  organized  tenants  develop  the  estate  in  their 
own  collective  interest ;  (4)  the  government  agency,  which 
develops  such  estate  for  the  public  advantage,  generally 
without  thought  of  monetary  profit  upon  the  investment. 
The  demarcations  between  these  four  agencies  are  not  sharp. 
Commercial  agencies  may  be  pbilanlbrojiic  in  the  sense 
that  they  find  it  good  business  to  consider  the  best  interests 
of  the  tenants  or  ultimate  juirchasers.  Philanlhroj')ic 
agencies,  on  the  other  hand,  are  increasingly  commercialized 


RESIDENTIAL  DECENTRALIZATION  345 

because  they  find  that  charity  which  is  to  avoid  pauperiza- 
tion of  the  recipient  must  be  conducted  in  a  business-like 
manner.  Most  of  the  so-called  philanthropic  companies  now 
buildinj:^  suburban  estates  are  limited  dividend  companies 
designed  to  i)ay  five  per  cent,  cumulative  dividends  upon 
the  invested  capital,  giving  over  all  further  earnings  to  the 
occupants  of  houses  in  the  form  of  utilities  of  one  sort  or 
another.  Cooj)erative  agencies  are  actuated  by  the  philan- 
thropic principle  of  service,  and  at  the  same  time  by  a  desire 
for  maximum  profit  upon  the  investment  consistent  with 
the  welfare  of  the  tenant  members.  This  object  is  "self- 
help  through  service."  All  of  the  above  agencies  may  be 
promoted  by  the  governmental  agency — either  the  munici- 
pality or  the  state — which  offers  cheap  land,  tax  exemptions, 
cheap  loans,  or  other  special  favors,  to  companies  that  are 
building  sanitary  homes  for  the  poorer  classes. 

Examples  of  the  commercial  agency  for  cottage  construc- 
tion will  be  found  in  every  growing  city.  Philanthropic 
societies  of  the  limited  dividend  type  have  also  built  to  sell 
or  to  rent  in  many  American  cities,  e.  g.,  the  City  and 
Suburban  Homes  Company,  ITomcwood,  Brooklyn  ;  the  San- 
itary Improvement  Co.,  Washington ;  the  Goodyear  Tire 
and  Rubber  Co.,  Akron,  Ohio ;  and  the  Modern  Homes 
Company,  Youngstown,  Ohio.  Industrial  corporations, 
the  purpose  of  which  may  be  either  philanthropic  or 
commercial,  have  l)uilt  largely  for  their  em])loyees  in  many 
countries.  Examples  of  the  cooj^erative  principle  are  rare 
in  America,  although  tliis  form  of  organization  is  likely  to  be 
tested  in  Pjillerica  and  East  Walpole,  Mass.,  and  in  Hamilton, 
Ontario.  Cooperative  housing  has  proved  decidedly  success- 
ful in  llarborne,  Ilampstead,  and  other  copartnership  gar- 
den suburbs  of  luigland.  (Governmental  suburban  develop- 
ment has  been  c;u'ried  on  by  the  County  Council  of  London, 
and  it  has  been  i)ractice(l  liy  hundreds  of  lun-o])eaii  niunioi- 
])al  goNcrnments  :    e.g.,  .^heffR-ld,   I'Jigland.  and    Chn.   ( icr- 


34^' 


CITY  PLANNING 


many.  It  has  been  practiced  by  national  and  provincial 
governments  in  Ireland  (Congested  Districts  Board),  New 
Zealand,  and  Germany. 


GOODYEAR  HEIGHTS  ALLOTMENT 
Final  Plan  for  Development 


ltuLL^!oa 


Any  or  all  of  tbese  agencies  may  under  certain  condi- 
tions be  utilized  to  advantage  for  tbe  development  of  sub- 
urbs. Tbe  commercial  agency  is  most  generally  active,  for 
tbe  hope  of  profit  is  a  perpetual  stimulus  to  house  construc- 
tion in  growing  communities.  The  houses  built  for  the  man 
of  small  means  are,  however,  less  well  built  and  less  well 
designed  than  those  constructed  by  the  other  agencies,  for 
the  aim  is  generally  to  secure  the  utmost  immediate  profit  to 
the  investor.     The  occupants'  interests  are  considered  only 


RESIDENTIAL  DECENTRALIZATION  347 

in  so  far  as  it  pays  to  consider  them.  The  commercial 
agency  is  an  inevitable  agency  of  house  construction  as  long 
as  the  institution  of  private  property  remains,  but  it  shouUl 
be  supplemented  in  most  cities  by  other  forms  of  organiza- 
tion. 

The  philanthropic  agency  or  limited  dividend  company 
can  be  utilized  to  advantage  for  purposes  of  experimenta- 
tion in  new  types  of  construction.  The  prime  function  of 
the  philanthropic  agency  aside  from  experimentation  is  edu- 
cation. Education  may  take  the  form  of  instruction  of  local 
builders  in  new  building  methods,  instruction  of  tenants  in 
the  upkeep  of  their  premises,  or  instruction  of  house  occu- 
pants in  thrift,  through  devising  new  and  easy  methods  of 
house  acquisition.  The  major  function  of  this  agency  is 
probably  the  discovery  of  new  types  of  houses,  and  the  sale 
of  these  houses  on  easy  payments  to  tenants.  Thus,  the  City 
and  Suburban  Homes  Company  in  Homewood,  Brooklyn, 
has  built  houses  on  lots  40  feet  by  100  feet,  to  sell,  including 
lot,  for  $2,500  to  $3,000.  The  tenant  may  pay  by  easy  in- 
stallments running  over  a  period  of  twenty  years,  paying 
his  installment  for  interest,  taxes,  and  amortization  monthly, 
and  paying  at  the  same  time  premiums  on  an  insurance 
policy  equal  to  two-thirds  the  value  of  his  mortgage,  so  that, 
in  case  of  his  death,  the  company  may  be  protected  in  the 
sale  of  this  house  and  the  family  may  be  protected  in  the 
house  ownership. 

Governmental  agencies  have  not  been  utilized  in  the 
United  States  as  yet  for  the  development  of  sulnirban 
estates,  but  in  Europe  huge  suburban  tracts,  purchased  by 
municipalities,  'are  developed  with  low-cost  houses  which 
are  rented  by  the  municipalities  to  workmen,  or  are  sold  to 
them  by  easy  installments  covering  long  periods.  This 
latter  method  has  proved  useful  as  a  means  of  preventing 
undue  speculation  in  suburban  lands,  and  as  a  means  of 
promoting  home  acquisition  by  poor  men.     Constitutional 


348  CITY  PLANNING 

difficulties  and  relative  inefficiency  or  dishonesty  of  munici- 
pal officers  have  made  it  inadvisable  to  attempt  the  applica- 
tion of  this  method  in  this  country  as  yet.  A  near  approach, 
however,  to  this  method  is  made  in  Toronto,  Canada,  where 
the  securities  of  a  limited  dividend  company  are  guaranteed 
by  the  municipality. 

Cooperative  organization,  which  has  not  yet  been  tried 
out  on  a  large  scale  in  America,  has  peculiar  virtues  as  a 
means  of  promoting  suburban  development.  Under  this 
method  the  prospective  suburban  dwellers  might  invest  in 
shares  of  stock  of  a  cooperative  housing  company.  An  op- 
tion on  suburban  land  would  be  secured.  The  tenants 
for  the  estate  would  be  canvassed  throughout  the  municipal- 
ity on  which  it  borders.  Money  for  such  purposes  in  both 
England  and  Germany  may  be  borrowed  from  the  State 
at  3  per  cent,  or  33^  per  cent,  interest,  and  further 
money  is  obtained  by  issuing  loan  stock  (non-voting  pre- 
ferred stock  with  a  prior  claim  on  the  land  and  houses  of 
the  estate).  The  estate,  of  course,  should  be  developed  by 
expert  city  planners,  the  advantages  of  large-scale  opera- 
tions being  secured.  When  the  houses  are  ready,  the  mem- 
bers of  the  copartnership  association,  all  of  whom  would 
be  prospective  tenants,  would  move  into  their  houses  and 
pay  rent  to  the  society.  The  gross  income  of  such  societies 
consists  in  the  rents  paid.  From  this  gross  income  the  ex- 
penses of  the  estate  are  met,  interest  is  paid  on  money  bor- 
rowed from  the  government  or  on  loan  stock,  a  percentage 
is  laid  aside  for  reserve  capital,  and  then  interest  is  paid 
upon  the  shares  of  each  tenant  member  at  a  limited  rate  of 
interest,  usually  5  per  cent.  All  the  net  profits  remaining 
after  the  above  payments  may  be  allocated  to  members  in 
proportion  to  the  rents  which  they  pay  to  their  common 
association,  but  arc  returned  to  them  not  in  the  form  of 
cash,  but  in  the  form  of  capital  stock,  until  each  owns  a 
share  of  the  estate  of  $1,000  or  tiic  value  of  his  house. 


RESIDENTIAL  DECENTRALIZATION  349 

The  voting  on  the  affairs  of  the  copartnership  tenants' 
suburb  is  strictly  democratic.  Each  stockholder  has  one 
vote,  and  one  only.  This  form  of  organization  is  peculiarly 
stable  and  economical,  because  each  member  has  a  maxi- 
mum of  interest  in  the  affairs  of  the  estate.  There  are, 
therefore,  no  losses  from  vacancies,  for,  when  a  house  is 
vacant,  every  member  of  the  estate  is  interested  in  securing 
new  tenants.  The  costs  for  repairs  are  kept  at  the  mini- 
mum, for  tenants  are  careful  of  property  which  they  own 
in  common.  There  are  few,  if  any,  losses  from  arrears  in 
rents,  because  the  shares  of  the  tenant  can  be  seized  to  wipe 
out  his  indebtedness  to  the  association.  Furthermore,  under 
this  form  of  organization,  all  increases  in  site  values  created 
by  the  community  become  the  property  of  the  tenant 
members. 

If  the  decentralization  of  residences  and  industries  is 
conceded  to  be  desirable,  it  is  important  for  America  to 
stimulate  the  movement  by  special  measures.  Establish- 
ment of  a  national  agency  to  provide  information  to  intend- 
ing builders,  or  persons  whom  they  employ,  on  the  relative 
merits  of  existing  methods  of  planning,  financing,  and  or- 
ganizing suburban  estates  is  needed.  This  same  agency 
might  create  or  enlarge  its  clientele  through  propaganda. 
Exhibits  of  building  materials,  of  house  and  estate  plans 
and  their  relative  costs,  and  of  the  constitutions,  by-laws, 
and  working  methods  of  house-building  companies  should 
be  jirovided.  ]>y  the  organization  of  such  a  clearing  house 
for  advice  and  propaganda  the  city  planner  or  the  promoter 
of  improved  suburban  or  industrial  housing  would  be  able 
to  act  uj^on  full  kncnvlcdge  of  the  results,  good  and  bad,  of 
prior  exj)crinients — could  ])rofit  by  jKist  experience.  Hap- 
hazard ex])erimentation,  which  results  in  needless  failures, 
could  be  avoided.  Thus,  by  slight  exjxMiditure  of  effort, 
the  (|uantity  and  the  efficiency  of  schemes  for  decentraliza- 
tion can  lie  n(jtal)ly  increased. 


350  CITY  PLANNING 


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and  Oakley.  Survey,  December  y,  1912,  15  pp.  IV.  A  St. 
Louis  "East  Side"  Suburb.  Survey,  February  i,  1913,  17 
pp.    V.  Gary,  Survey,  March  i,  1913,  18  pp. 

Thompson,  W.  The  Housing  Handbook.  London,  1909. 
loi  pp. 

.     Housing  Up-to-Date.    London,  1907.     306  pp. 

Toronto  Housing  Company,  Limited.  Better  Housing  in  Can- 
ada,   "The    Ontario    Plan."      First    Annual    Report,    1913, 

31  PP- 

United  States  Sixtieth  Congress,  2nd  Session.  Reports  of  the 
President's  Homes  Commission.  (Senate  Document  No. 
644.)      Washington,   1909.     381   pp_ 

Unwin,  Raymond.  Nothing  Gained  by  Overcrowding.  Lon- 
don, 1912.     24  pp. 

Veiller,  Lawrence.  The  Housing  Problem  in  American 
Cities.  (Reprinted  from  the  Annals  of  the  American 
Academy  of  Political  and  Social  Science  for  March,  1905.) 
Philadelphia.    70  pp. 


CHAPTER   XVI 
I'L'NDAMKN  TAL  DATA  FOR  CITY  PLANNING  WORK 

r'ornicrly,  tlic  almost  universal  practice  among  public  or 
private  corporations,  in  the  conduct  of  their  business,  was  to 
follow  along  those  lines  of  development  which  personal 
experience  or  local  j)recedcnt  had  shown  to  be  sufficient  for 
meeting  possil)le  contingencies  or  new  needs  in  the  ordinary 
course  of  growth.  New  enterprises  and  developments  were 
undertaken  on  faith,  or  only  when  the  need  had  become  so 
pressing  that  economic  losses  were  acutely  felt.  The  mod- 
ern method  is  radically  different.  Improvements  are 
planned  as  the  result  of  careful  surveys  and  detailed  an- 
alyses, and  after  a  full  consideration  of  all  contributory 
factors  bearing  on  the  case. 

Sinu'larly,  in  city  planning,  a  frequent  practice  has  been 
to  provide  for  transit  extensions,  street  widcnings,  enlarged 
port  facilities,  sanitary  improvements,  or  new  park  areas, 
to  meet  a  popular  local  demand,  or  to  favor  certain  indi- 
viduals or  corporations.  The  modern,  scientific  method  is 
to  weigh  all  imjirovemcnts  on  the  basis  of  urgency  after  a 
careful  survey  and  analysis,  in  which  consideration  is  given 
to  all  co(')rdinate  features  in  the  city  plan. 

Tn  other  words,  it  is  now  realized  that  the  city  is  a  com- 
plex organism,  so  complex  that  no  doctor  is  safe  in  pre- 
scribing for  it  unless  he  has  made  a  thoroughgoing  and 
impartial  diagnosis  of  everything  that  may  have  even  the 
remotest  bearing  on  the  case.  City  jilanning  is,  therefore, 
fast  l)econiing  a  well-defined  science  with  definite  prescrip- 

353 


354  CITY  PLANNING 

tions  for  definite  ills,  and  satisfactory  results  can  be  ar- 
rived at  only  by  applying  modern  scientific  methods. 

In  the  collection  of  the  fundamental  data  for  city-plan- 
ning work,  the  area  included  within  the  boundaries  of  a 
city  may  generally  be  studied  from  two  main  angles.  First, 
comes  the  older  section  with  its  heritage  of  narrow  and 
overburdened  streets,  its  property  under  private  ownership 
devoted  to  uses  that  reflect  the  individual  policies  of  indi- 
viduals or  corporations,  its  inadequate  facilities  for  recrea- 
tion, amusement,  education,  and  the  manifold  amenities  of 
city  life,  its  insufficient  or  neglected  provisions  for  sanita- 
tion and  health,  etc.,  which,  taken  all  in  all,  constitute  grave 
obstacles  to  wholesome  living  for  the  existing  population. 
Second,  follows  the  undeveloped  or  only  partially  developed 
territory  which  oflfers,  at  the  present  time,  an  almost  virgin 
field  for  the  application  of  far-sighted  methods  of  control 
and  development  through  the  provision  of  new  arteries,  of 
methods  of  districting  or  zoning,  of  limitations  on  the 
height  and  distribution  of  buildings,  or  in  the  allocation  of 
areas  for  parks,  playground,  school  sites,  or  other  public 
uses. 

In  the  first  phase,  in  the  old  and  built-up  sections,  the 
city  planner  will  devote  his  attention  to  the  collection  of 
fundamental  data  that  will  aid  him  in  healing  the  pressing 
ills  of  the  community,  having  in  mind  the  need  for  immedi- 
ate relief  and  the  practical  limitations  on  radical  reform 
due  to  the  restricted  financial  resources  of  the  city  or  the 
lack  of  statutory  or  constitutional  powers,  while,  in  the  sec- 
ond instance,  in  the  undeveloped  territory,  he  will  conduct 
his  investigations  and  survey  in  a  way  that  will  take  into 
due  consideration  the  time  when  the  population  of  the  city 
will  have  grown  to  two,  three,  or  four  times  its  present 
numbers,  and  when  the  development  of  streets  and  transit 
lines  and  of  private  and  ])ublic  property  will  have  extended 
so  as  to  include  all  of  the  undeveloped  territory  within  the 


FUNDAMENTAL  DATA  FOR  CITY  PLANNING     355 

existing  boundaries  and  probably  mucb  of  die  territory 
lying  miles  beyond. 

The  survey  and  collection  of  fundamental  data  must 
include,  therefore,  a  consideration  of  the  immediate  needs 
of  the  city,  as  well  as  those  which  will  arise  when  the  city's 
population  will  have  doubled,  trebled,  or  quadrupled,  and 
its  area  extended  proportionately.  JJearing  this  in  mind, 
the  following  outline  of  a  program  for  a  survey  will  suggest 
many  opportunities  for  such  a  division  of  study  in  ap- 
proaching a  specific  problem. 

The  field  for  investigation  and  survey,  in  its  broadest 
aspects,  then,  includes  (a)  the  geography  and  climate  of 
the  region,  (b)  the  topographic  and  hydrographic  charac- 
teristics of  the  site,  (c)  the  demographic  features  of  the 
problem,  including  such  matters  as  the  growth,  distribution, 
and  health  of  the  population  over  a  jicriod  of  years,  (d) 
the  history  of  the  city's  physical  growth,  gathered  from  the 
available  records  of  the  past,  (e)  the  methods  of  control  of 
development  schemes,  including  constitutional  and  statutory 
powers,  local  restrictions  on  land  and  buildings,  and  the 
exercise  of  the  police  power  for  the  health,  safety,  morals, 
and  welfare  of  the  people,  and  (f)  the  financial  status  of 
the  city,  with  a  review  of  the  possible  sources  of  revenue. 


Gkogkapiiy 

The  geography  of  the  city  and  the  region  which  is  im- 
mediately tributary  to  it  is  the  chief  determining  physical 
quantity  of  the  problem.  The  natural  features,  such  as 
heights  and  depressions  and  tlie  water  t'ront  (ocean,  river, 
or  bay),  form  natural  barriers  to  development,  determining 
to  some  extent  the  means  of  coninninieation  and  the  char- 
acter of  the  city's  commercial  dexelopnient  through  its 
(locks  and   harbors,   its   railroads  and   canals,  and,   too.   the 


356  CITY  PLANNING 

health  fulness  and  accessibility  of  housing  and  recreational 
developments,  the  location  of  factories,  and  even  the  method 
of  sewage  disposal  and  the  character  and  source  of  water 
supply. 

A  topographic  map  of  all  these  features,  as  well  as  an 
accurate  presentation  of  the  artificial  boundaries,  such  as 
the  established  city  limits,  and  the  subdivision  of  the  city 
area  into  blocks  and  streets,  will  be  essential.  Such  large 
areas  as  reservations,  parks,  institutional  grounds,  and  sites 
for  public  buildings  will  also  be  shown.  Such  a  map, 
drawn  with  the  greatest  accuracy,  based  on  triangulation 
methods,  with  bases  and  permanent  benches,  permanently 
fixed  and  determined  for  all  time,  and  showing  contours 
at  frequent  intervals,  is  a  fundamental  desideratum. 
Strange  as  it  may  seem,  in  many  of  the  largest  and  wealth- 
iest cities  of  the  country,  not  to  mention  the  lesser  ones, 
such  a  record,  kept  up-to-date,  does  not  exist.  A  special 
bureau  should  be  established  and  intrusted  with  the  draft- 
ing of  a  reliable  record  of  the  city  area  and  its  boundaries, 
on  which  all  other  surveys  should  be  based.  The  com- 
plexities which  are  constantly  met  with  in  the  extension  or 
development  of  new  areas  or  the  fixing  of  new  alignments 
within  the  city's  territory,  would  thus  be  avoided. 

Then,  too,  as  modern  transit  developments  are  eliminating 
artificial  barriers,  cities  are  daily  coming  to  a  fuller  realiza- 
tion of  the  necessity  of  giving  consideration  to  the  means  of 
communication  between  the  major  city  and  its  lesser  satel- 
lites, so  that  a  topographic  map  of  the  environing  region 
is  of  immediate  importance. 


Geology,  Botany,  Meteorology 

Data  showing  the  character  of  the  underlying  soil  of  the 
region,   the   extent   of   the   rock   floor,   tlie   extent   of   sub- 


FUNDAMENTAL  DATA  FOR  CITY  PLANNING     357 

surface  water,  and  the  kinds  of  shrubs  and  trees  best  suited 
to  the  soil,  should  be  obtained.  Data  on  climatic  conditions 
— the  extent  of  rainfall,  atmospheric  variations,  the  direc- 
tions and  intensity  of  the  prevailing  winds,  etc. — will  aid  us 
in  studying  a  number  of  features  of  the  city  i)lan,  such  as 
the  best  location  for  factories,  the  kind  of  building  materials 
suited  to  the  climate,  and  the  capacity  of  sewers  to  carry 
off  storm  waters. 

Local  History 

The  study  of  local  history  will  give  us  a  more  intelligent 
grasp  of  our  problem,  and  for  that  reason  we  should  have 
as  many  maps,  charts,  and  diagrams  gathered  from  all 
sources  showing  the  early  and  later  aspects  of  the  city's 
development  as  we  may  be  able  to  collect.  Further,  we 
should  have  a  record  of  the  period  of  the  city's  founding, 
the  characteristics  of  its  population,  of  its  changing  occupa- 
tions and  industries,  and  the  varying  means  of  circulation — 
turnpikes,  highways,  etc.  Not  infrequently  the  city  planner 
may  form  a  better  conception  of  the  needs  and  characteris- 
tics of  the  people  for  whom  he  is  planning  by  studying  the 
history  of  the  town  than  by  any  other  way.  The  sociologi- 
cal conditions  and  the  economic  aspects  of  the  city  are 
brought  into  clear  relief  by  this  method,  which,  by  compari- 
son with  a  survey  of  present  conditions,  will  enable  him  to 
forecast   future  growth   with   considerable   accuracy. 


Demogkaphy 

A  study  of  vital  statistics — the  distribution  and  health  of 
the  population- — has  been  said  to  be  the  foundation  stone  of 
all  city-plainiing  work.  To  attain  the  ])ro])er  ])ers]x>ctivc 
in  this  regru-(l,  we  should  ])Osscss  records   for  sc\cral  i\cc- 


358  CITY  PLANNING 

ades  in  the  past,  perhaps  fifty  years  if  the  information  is 
availahle.  Knowing  the  facts  as  to  the  ever-changing  dis- 
tribution of  population  and  its  health — past  and  present — 
we  are  in  possession  of  information  that  will  give  us  excel- 
lent ground  on  which  to  make  our  forecasts  for  the  future. 

Population  Maps. — The  distribution  of  population,  as 
noted  from  the  Census  records,  should  be  plotted  on  large- 
scale  maps,  one  dot  to  every  five,  ten,  or  twenty-five  people. 
We  should  have  maps  showing  the  distribution  of  popula- 
tion during  the  working  day,  as  well  as  data  giving  the  kinds 
of  occupations  and  the  numbers  in  diflferent  employments. 
With  the  distribution  of  the  sleeping  population  plotted,  as 
taken  from  the  Census  records,  and  the  day  distribution  as 
above,  we  are  in  possession  of  graphical  data  that  will  be  of 
much  assistance  in  studying  the  problems  of  circulation  in 
the  city,  in  the  provision  of  highways  and  transit  lines  ade- 
quate to  meet  the  daily  ebb  and  flow,  and  in  providing  for 
proper  terminal  facilities  and  for  scientific  districting  or 
zoning,  to  say  nothing  of  many  other  uses. 

Health  Statistics. — The  number  and  distribution  of  cases 
of  tuberculosis,  typhoid,  and  other  contagious  diseases  of 
major  importance,  of  infantile  mortality,  etc.,  should  be  a 
part  of  the  permanent  record  of  every  city,  kept  up  to  date. 
If  we  can  secure  such  data  for  five-year  periods  from  past 
records,  we  may  with  great  advantage  plot  conditions  as 
shown.  These  data  plotted  on  maps,  with  a  distinctive  sign 
for  each  disease,  form  a  telling  record  in  regard  to  those 
areas  where  infection,  unsanitary  conditions,  low  vitality, 
etc.,  are  prevalent,  and  should  call  for  immediate  study  on 
the  part  of  the  city  planner. 

We  will  have  occasion  to  speak  more  in  detail  of  the 
value  of  these  topographical,  historical,  and  demographical 
data  to  which  we  have  referred  above,  in  our  treatment  of 
the  various  phases  of  the  general  problem,  whether  in  its 


FUXDAiMlCXTAI.  DATA   l-OR  CITY  PLANNING     359 

static  aspect — in  liousini;^.  industry,  or  recreation — or  in  its 
dynamic  expression — in  transportation  and  the  circulatory 
system.  It  is  only  when  each  of  these  phases  has  heen 
studied  in  connnection  with  the  facts  ahove  mentioned, 
and  then  treated  with  reference  to  all  of  the  others,  in  the 
light  of  effect  and  counterefifect,  that  we  arrive  at  a  point 
where  a  real  city  plan  is  a  practicable  objective. 


Specific  Piiasks  of  the  Proi'.lem  :  The  Static  Factors 

Residential  Areas. — In  matters  that  affect  the  housing 
of  the  people,  our  investigations  will  require  a  comjilete  and 
graphic  expression  of  the  facts  extending  as  far  back  as  the 
housing  records  of  the  past  permit.  Using  our  topographic 
map  of  the  city,  enlarged  to  a  scale  of  sufficient  size  to 
represent  adequately  the  facts  in  considerable  detail  (200 
feet  to  the  inch  would  give  ample  space  for  every  feature), 
we  should  represent  thereon  the  housing  conditions,  showing 
in  distinctive  colors  the  one-family,  two-family,  and  tene- 
ment houses,  whether  detachefl  or  in  rows,  with  the  number 
of  stories  and  the  percentage  of  lot  covered,  differentiating 
the  wood  and  brick  construction.  The  local  real-estate  at- 
lases or  those  published  for  the  fire-insurance  companies 
may  be  used  for  this  purpose.  Going  back  to  our  vital  sta- 
tistics to  which  we  have  referred,  we  may  superimpose 
on  this  map  the  location  and  number  of  cases  of  typhoid, 
tuberculosis,  and  infantile  mortality  in  the  city,  for  the  past 
five  years  or  more,  representing  each  case  by  a  dot.  It 
would  be  well  at  the  same  time  to  represent  l)y  symbols  the 
location  of  every  well  and  pri\y  in  the  city,  data  for  which 
will  be  a  part  of  tlie  record  of  the  health  office.  All  ]irop- 
erty  in  the  city  which  remains  undevelojK'd  could  be  dis- 
tinctly shaded  or  colored  on  this  map,  as  representing  pos- 
sible areas  for  housing  development. 


36u  CITY  PLANNING 

The  preparation  of  several  other  maps,  of  smaller  scale 
and  with  as  great  detail,  showing  the  general  character  and 
extent  of  housing  development  some  fifty  years  ago  and  for 
such  intermediate  periods  as  would  hest  illustrate  the  ten- 
dencies of  growth,  would  be  of  the  greatest  help  in  studying 
the  probable  extension  of  lines  of  future  development  in 
residential  property. 

These  maps  afford,  by  a  comparison  of  building  develop- 
ments in  the  past  and  present,  and  by  study  in  conjunction 
with  the  street,  transit,  industrial,  recreational,  and  property 
value  maps,  of  which  we  will  speak  at  a  later  point,  a  fairly 
sound  basis  for  making  plans  for  improvement.  The  prev- 
alence of  tuberculosis,  for  instance,  in  certain  blighted  or 
run-down  districts,  will  point  to  the  need  of  a  careful  sur- 
vey of  housing  conditions — overcrowding,  congestion,  dark 
rooms,  and  general  dilapidation  in  structural  conditions ;  the 
need  of  greater  open  space  for  sunlight,  air,  and  recreation ; 
the  possibility  of  condemning  certain  areas  for  park  pur- 
poses, or  of  cutting  through  a  new  street  to  relieve  the 
situation  and  supply  a  real  traffic  need.  The  data  in  regard 
to  typhoid  and  infantile  mortality  will  aid  us  in  locating  sec- 
tions where  sanitary  conditions  are  particularly  bad,  espe- 
cially with  reference  to  water  supply,  wells,  pumps,  etc., 
and  with  reference  to  contamination  by  sewage,  yard  priv- 
ies, school  sinks,  and  other  objectional)le  features  of  the 
tenement  district.  The  distinction  between  brick  and 
wooden  dwellings  will  lead  us  to  proposals  in  regard  to  re- 
strictions on  property,  the  extension  of  the  fire  limits,  and 
the  modification  of  the  building  laws,  etc.  The  map,  in 
conjunction  with  the  other  property  maps  which  we  will 
describe,  will  be  particularly  valuable  in  studying  the  pos- 
sil)ilitics  of  districting  or  zoning  for  the  city.  If  we  super- 
impose the  population  dots  on  pur  housing  ma]x  such  an 
addition  will  prove  illuminative  and  valua1)le  in  many  con- 
nections. 


FUNDAMENTAL  DATA  FOR  CITY  PLANNING     361 

Sanitation. — A  full  knowledge  of  the  facts  in  regard  to 
water  sui)i)ly,  sewage  disposal,  garbage  disposal,  and  street 
cleaning — mailers  which  vitally  affect  the  statistical  record 
in  regard  to  the  health  fulness  of  the  population — is  essen- 
tial. 

The  facts  in  regard  to  the  distribution  of  water  mains, 
their  size  and  gradients,  the  districts  which  they  serve,  the 
cost  to  the  consumer,  the  conditions  of  ownership  of  the 
sources  of  supply,  and  the  potability  and  relative  purity  of 
the  water,  should  be  noted. 

In  regard  to  the  disposal  of  selvage,  we  should  know,  just 
how  it  is  disposed  of,  how  the  disposal  affects  adjacent 
communities,  the  extent  of  sewage  mains  and  their  size,  and 
whether  the  storm  water  is  cared  for  in  these  mains,  or 
whether  a  separate  system  is  provided,  and  if  so,  just  how 
extensive  this  system  is  and  what  is  its  capacity. 

In  the  matter  of  garbage  disposal  many  American  cities 
find  the  most  vital  health  problem  in  the  community.  A 
knowledge  of  the  methods  of  collection,  the  frequency  and 
extent  to  which  all  parts  of  the  city  are  served,  the  cost 
to  the  city,  and  the  methods  of  disposal— whether  by  dump- 
ing, incineration,  or  sale  to  farmers — will  be  required. 

Efficiency  in  street  cleaning  touches  the  problems  of 
health  and  general  city  attractiveness  to  a  notable  degree, 
and  no  pains  should  be  spared  to  secure  an  adequate  knowl- 
edge of  the  quality  of  service  which  the  city  secures,  the 
volume  of  refuse  collected,  its  unit  cost,  and  the  ex- 
tent of  territory  served.  A  jx-rsonal  survey  will  make 
possible  a  fuller  realization  of  the  city's  needs  in  tiiis 
respect. 

The  data  in  regard  to  water  supply,  sewage  disposal, 
garbage  disposal,  and  street  cleaning  must,  of  course,  be 
studied  in  connection  willi  the  j)r()l)k'ni  of  housing,  as  tlierc 
the  effect  of  these  is  most  notal)lc.  r^)r  this  reason,  the 
superimjiosing  of  mains  and  routes,  and  notes  as  to  their 


362  CITY  PLANNING 

size,  on  the  large  housing  map,  will  avail  much  in  showing 
the  effect  of  inefficient  service  in  certain  districts. 

Recreation  and  Education. — In  studying  the  general 
healthfulness  of  the  residential  districts,  we  are  brought 
into  immediate  touch  with  the  way  in  which  the  city  cares 
for  the  leisure  time  of  its  inhabitants.  The  problem  is  re- 
lated to  the  general  efficiency  and  healthfulness  of  the  popu- 
lation, and  bears  on  the  extent  of  morbidity  and  mortality 
among  adults  and  children.  For  this  reason,  its  study  in 
connection  with  congestion,  overcrowding,  immorality,  ju- 
venile delinquency,  crime,  and  street  accidents,  gives  it  an 
important  place  in  our  program  of  investigation. 

We  should  plot  on  a  large-scale  map  the  location,  size, 
and  land  values  of  all  playgrounds,  whether  public  or  pri- 
vate, and  of  all  schools,  whether  with  or  without  yards  or 
playgrounds.  In  conjunction  with  this,  the  plotting  of  the 
homes  in  which  juvenile  delinquency  has  occurred,  and  the 
sites  where  street  accidents  have  occurred  for  five  years 
past,  will  prove  illuminating  in  illustrating  the  need  in  sec- 
tions now  unprovided  with  playgrounds. 

The  location  of  all  parks,  their  acreage,  cost  to  the  city, 
average  daily  usage,  and  usage  on  special  days,  and  the 
location  and  size  of  all  parks  of  limited  use,  especially  in 
connection  with  institutions  and  administrative  buildings, 
should  be  shown  on  the  map,  together  with  all  parkzvays  or 
boulevards,  showing  the  general  arrangement  for  pleasure 
traffic  and  for  leisurely  pedestrian  usage.  The  city  planner 
will,  of  course,  find  his  attention  drawn  to  studies  for 
greater  efficiency  in  tlie  use  of  these  areas  and  for  the  pos- 
sibility of  extensions  in  park  lands  to  provide  for  imme- 
diate needs  and  future  growth. 

Data  should  be  collected  and  plotted  sb.owing  the  loca- 
tion of  all  social  centers,  music  and  lecture  halls,  libraries 
and  collegiate  institutes,  the  aim  of  wliich  is  to  provide  for 
the  wise  use  of  adult  leisure  time. 


FUNDAMENTAL  DATA  FOR  CITY  PLANNING     363 

The  effect  of  commercial  ventures  aimed  at  providing 
amusement  and  recreation  for  adults  and  children  has  an 
important  bearing  on  our  city-planning  proposals,  and  for 
that  reason  we  should  study  and  plot  the  location  and 
patronage  enjoyed  by  moving-picture    theaters,  vaudeville 


A  R.  C  A         S  E.RVCD 
B  Y 

PRINCE    STREET  PLAyCROUND 


...«of»         /S—rtA/u 


The  city  planner  will  find  liis  attention  drawn  to  studies  for  securing  greater 
erticiency  in  the  use  <il'  areas  ii^ed  for  reereation  and  for  the  extension 
of  facilities.  I.oth  in  |)la\  ;,'ronnds  and  jiarks.  The  diaijrani  shown  here- 
with illustrates  the  method  liy  which  tlie  elYectiNe  radius  of  usefulness 
of  a  playground  is  dettrn!ini<l  and  shows  that  the  homes  of  the  majority 
of  users  of  this  particular  facility  are  located  within  a  circle  of  J  ij 
Utile  radius, 


364  CITY  PLANNING 

theaters,  dance  halls,  saloons,  social  clubs,  etc.,  with  the  aim 
of  securing  a  better  understanding  of  the  effect  of  these  on 
the  present  provision  which  the  city  has  made,  and  for 
the  possible  future  care  of  that  part  of  the  population  now 
using  these  by  amusements  under  civic  direction — music, 
drama,  moving  pictures,  and  neighborhood  centers. 

Civic  Architecture  and  Decoration. — Because  of  the  moral 
effect  of  noble  civic  buildings  and  of  the  esthetic  treatment 
of  utilitarian  street  furnishings,  the  study  of  these,  with 
regard  to  their  adaptation  to  use  and  to  the  higher  standards 
of  art  and  architecture,  will  form  a  useful  part  of  the  sur- 
vey. This  will  cover  all  public  and  semi-public  buildings, 
whether  municipal  or  federal,  churches,  libraries,  schools, 
station-houses,  etc.,  and  the  architectural  treatment  of  the 
environing  buildings.  In  the  matter  of  libraries  the  possible 
effective  radius  of  use  should  be  noted ;  in  the  matter  of 
schools,  the  effective  radius  served  and  the  treatment  of 
the  grounds  from  a  landscape  standpoint.  The  location, 
use  and  area  of  buildings,  and  the  surrounding  grounds, 
should  be  plotted  on  the  large-scale  map  for  study  in  re- 
gard to  possible  rearrangement  by  grouping,  in  neighbor- 
hood centers  or  otherwise,  or  for  providing  for  future 
growth. 

Accompanying  the  survey  of  civic  architecture,  observa- 
tions should  be  made  in  regard  to  such  civic  decorations  as 
statues,  monuments,  fountains,  bridges,  and  utilitarian  street 
furnishings,  such  as  ligliting,  telegraph  or  trolley  poles, 
fire-alarm  boxes,  hydrants,  kiosks,  street  signs,  public-com- 
fort stations,  and  trolley  stations,  with  a  view  to  studying 
their  esthetic  effect,  appropriateness  in  design,  and  effective 
location.  In  regard  to  lighting  standards,  data  might  well 
be  collected  at  the  same  time  showing  the  height  of  the 
lighting  fixtures  aljovc  tlie  street,  their  distance  apart,  light- 
ing radius  and  cost  to  the  city,  and  distribution,  with  a  view 
to  their  more  effective  ])lacing. 


FUNDAMENTAL  DATA  FOR  CITY  PLANNING     365 

Property  Used  for  Industry. — We  have  given  a  brief 
outline  of  the  fundamental  data  required  for  a  study  of  two 
of  the  major  factors  in  the  static  aspects  of  the  city  plan 
— the  housing  of  the  people  and  provision  for  the  use  of 
leisure  time.  A  third  is  that  of  caring  for  the  industrial 
or  commercial  activities  of  the  population.  The  funda- 
mental data  re(juircd  for  adequate  planning  of  areas  so  used 
divides  itself  into  that  dealing  with  the  manufacturing,  the 
•wholesale  or  warehouse,  and  the  retail  or  business  dis- 
tricts. 

As  mentioned  in  our  section  on  demography,  in  this  chap- 
ter, the  distribution  of  the  working  population  will  be  plotted 
on  a  large-scale  ma}).  It  will  now  be  necessary  to  add  to  this 
data  the  location  of  all  factories,  showing  the  number  of 
stories  and  size  of  plants,  differentiating  among  plants  de- 
voted to  light  manufacturing,  heavy  manufacturing,  and  to 
industries  which,  because  of  noise,  odor,  or  other  objection- 
able features,  should  be  assigned  to  special  locations. 

In  addition,  we  should  ha\e  on  the  same  maj),  in  dis- 
tinctive color,  a  plotting  of  the  location,  number  of  stories 
of,  and  percentage  of  lot  covered  by  all  wareJioiises,  zvJwle- 
sale  houses,  loft  build! tigs,  etc. 

For  the  study  of  districts  devoted  to  retail  business,  we 
should  show  in  a  special  color  all  shops,  miscellaneous  small 
stores,  l)anks,  and  dej)artnient  stores. 

In  this  case,  as  well  as  in  the  two  preceding,  we  could 
l)lot  to  good  advantage,  for  such  ])eriods  in  the  ])ast  as  the 
data  is  readily  availaltlc,  corresi)onding  matter  for  com- 
parison with  the  present,  to  show  the  tendencies  of  growth 
and  change. 

It  is  useful  to  make  a  general  map  showing  the  pre\'ail- 
ing  heights  of  buildings  in  dilTerenl  ])arts  of  the  city. 

It  is  useful  also  to  ])]ot  the  ])re\ailing  percriitiU/rs  of  lot 
covered  b>'  i)uil(lings. 

It  is  essential  to  plot  for  the  wliole  city,  land-\alue  zones 


366 


CITY  PLANNING 


based  on  the  assessed  valuation  per  front,  or  per  square 
foot  of  the  typical  inside  lots. 


One  of  the  primary  objectives  of  city  planning  is  the  division  of  the  city 
area  into  districts  in  which  buildings  of  a  specified  character  of  use 
or  occupancy,  and  limited  to  a  specified  height  and  percentage  of  lot 
occupancy  are  permitted.  Obviovisly  maps  of  the  character  shown 
above  in  which  the  prevailing  percentages  of  lots  co\ered  by  buildings 
arc  noted  is  of  the  greatest  value  in  a  workable  program  of  this  sort. 


FUNDAMENTAL  DATA  FOR  CITY  PLANNING     367 

The  importance  of  all  of  the  ahove  maps  cannot  be  over- 
estimated, especially  when  they  are  studied  in  connection 
with  the  problems  of  transit  to  and  from  places  of  work, 
and  in  connection  with  the  study  of  districting  restrictions 
for  various  tyj)cs  of  housing,  manufacturing,  and  business. 
It  is  the  linking  up  of  residential  and  industrial  areas  by 
adequate  streets  and  transit  facilities,  and  at  the  same  time 
securing  for  industry  all  the  factors  that  make  for  efficiency, 
and  for  housing,  those  that  make  for  healthful  and  con- 
venient living,  that  constitutes  the  major  element  of  city 
planning. 

Dynamic  Factors  i.\  the  Problem 

The  investigations  which  we  have  suggested  up  to  this 
point  as  essential  have  touched  only  on  tiic  matters  relating 
to  the  static  elements  of  the  plan.  Those  features  which 
relate  to  the  ways  by  which  people  pass  from  point  to  point 
within  the  city  or  are  transported  beyond  its  limits,  or  by 
which  goods  are  hauled  between  terminal,  warehouse,  fac- 
tory, shop,  or  home,  will  require  detailed  investigation. 

Streets. — As  a  primary  factor  in  circulation,  the  streets 
should  be  studied  from  the  standpoint  of  use  and  topog- 
raphy— width,  grade,  surfacing,  and  arrangement.  As  an 
adjunct  to  this,  the  territory  in  the  city  not  yet  subdivided, 
through  which  future  streets  will  be  run,  should  be  studied 
with  the  same  points  in  view.  The  topographic  mai)s  re- 
ferred to  in  an  early  part  of  this  chapter  will  be  of  great 
use   in  this  study. 

In  the  study  of  the  use  of  streets,  the  volume,  composi- 
tion, and  direction  of  traffic  at  important  street  intersec- 
tions and  traffic  throats  tliroughout  the  city  should  l)e  noted 
by  special  investigators  assigned  to  these  points,  who  will 
check  off  the  number  and  direction  of  pedestrians,  of 
pleasure  and  light  business  \-ehiclcs,  and  of  heavy  drauglit 


368  CITY  PLANNING 

vans,  whether  self-propelled  or  horse-drawn.  This  data  is 
tabulated  for  each  hour  of  the  day  and  graphically  illus- 
trated on  charts  showing  the  volume  and  direction  of  vehi- 
cles at  street  intersections  by  broad  lines  or  bands  whose 
breadth  is  proportional  to  the  number  of  vehicles,  and 
whose  direction  indicates  whether  the  traffic  moves  straight 
ahead  or  takes  a  right-  or  left-hand  turn.  Such  traffic 
counts  will  enable  the  planner  to  adopt  plans  appropriate 
to  the  peculiar  composition  and  direction  of  the  travel  ob- 
served, such,  for  instance,  as  (a)  the  elimination  of  left- 
hand  turns  at  intersections,  (b)  the  removal  of  encroach- 
ments on  sidewalks,  (c)  the  widening  or  narrowing  of 
sidewalks,  (d)  the  creation  of  one-way  streets  or  (e)  of 
parallel  streets  in  groups  of  two  or  three,  assigned,  respect- 
ively, to  the  three  major  types  of  traffic — automobile,  light- 
vehicular  or  surface-car,  and  heavy  trucking,  (f)  the  widen- 
ing or  extension  of  old  streets  or  (g)  the  cutting  through 
of  new  streets.  Beyond  these  special  studies,  the  planner 
will  make  himself  thoroughly  familiar  with  the  entire  street 
problem  throughout  the  district,  where  it  may  not  be  prac- 
ticable or  desirable  to  conduct  special  traffic  counts,  with 
a  view  to  discovering  how  far  the  present  street  system  may 
be  improved  in  any  of  the  ways  above  referred  to,  or  by  a 
more  economic  and  rational  linking  up  of  the  arterial  and 
secondary  street  system  of  the  city  with  those  highways 
and  minor  roads  leading  out  from  the  city  to  the  tributary 
territory  and  townships  beyond  its  boundaries. 

As  an  aid  to  this  study,  the  maps  referred  to  under  Local 
History,  showing  the  early  and  more  recent  development 
of  the  city's  street  system,  should  be  collected  and  com- 
pared with  the  present  topographic  maps  to  ascertain  the 
general  tendencies  in  regard  to  circulation  and  to  become 
familiar  with  the  direction,  continuity,  and  width  of  all 
arterial  and  secondary  higlnvays  or  such  as  might  be  dc- 
vclo])e(l  if  properly  aligned  and  widened. 


FUNDAMENTAL  DATA  FOR  CITY  PLANNING     369 

Personal  surveys  sliouki  be  made,  data  collected,  and 
maps  prepared  of  the  entire  street  system  from  the  stand- 
point of  the  roadzcay  and  sidcnvalk  surfacing  and  grades. 


The  (lynaitiic  factors  in  tlie  problem  are  lliose  wliicli  relate  to  the  ways  by 
which  people  iiass  from  i)oirit  to  point  within  the  city  or  arc  trans- 
jiorted  hej-ond  its  limits,  or  by  which  j^^oods  arc  hauled  between  ter- 
minal, warehouse,  factory,  slio])  or  honie.  '{"he  volume,  com])osition 
and  direction  of  traftic  ;it  important  street  intersections  and  traftic 
throats  thrcnij^diout  the  city  are  studied  as  an  incident  of  the  investi- 
gation of  street  conditions,  the  results  of  one  such  study  l>einy  shown 
aljove. 


370  CITY  PLANNING 

On  account  of  tlie  effect  of  grades  and  street  surfacing 
on  the  economic  handling  of  merchandise  by  trucking,  and 
on  the  general  comfort  and  convenience  enjoyed  by  vehicu- 
lar passengers,  this  study  bears  a  very  important  relation 
to  securing  efficiency  in  the  city  plan.  For  this  reason,  the 
data  should  be  plotted  on  maps,  wherever  possible,  showing 
the  kind  of  surfacing  used  on  arterial  and  secondary  high- 
ways and  the  grades  and  crown  of  the  same,  and  the  kind 
of  surfacing  on  minor  roads  and  residential  streets,  with 
a  view  to  determining  their  adaptability  to  use.  In  con- 
junction with  this,  we  should  know,  in  regard  to  these  lay- 
outs, the  life  and  original  cost  of  the  pavement,  the  cost 
of  maintenance,  and  the  method  of  paying  for  renewals. 
For  a  general  view  of  the  whole  problem,  we  should  have 
figures  showing  the  mileage  of  city  streets  of  various 
widths,  surfacing,  and  usage.  In  regard  to  curbing  and 
gutters  we  should  note  the  character  of  construction,  gen- 
eral appearance,  and  wearing  qualities  of  typical  streets 
throughout  the  city.  Data  similar  to  that  in  regard  to 
street  roadways  should  be  collected  in  regard  to  the  uni- 
formity, smoothness,  life,  cost,   etc.,  of  all  sidewalks. 

Transit. — Adequate  transit  facilities  for  connecting  the 
housing,  industrial  and  recreational  areas  within  the  city 
are  of  fundamental  importance.  Rapid  transportation  has 
given  rise  to  the  rapid  increase  in  population  and  area  of 
all  modern  cities,  and  still  controls  the  growth  and  exten- 
sion of  urban  communities.  The  historical  maps  which 
we  have  collected  will  illustrate  the  distribution  of  early 
transit  facilities,  omnibus,  horse-car,  cable-car,  and  surface 
electric  lines,  and  will  be  useful,  in  connection  with  the 
corres])on(ling  maps  showing  housing  and  industry,  in  en- 
abling us  to  judge  of  the  probable  future  needs.  In  addi- 
tion, we  should  show  on  a  large-scale  map  the  present  tran- 
sit lines — (a)  surface  lines,  whether  double  or  single  track, 
noting  the  width  between  track  centers  and  the  width  of  car 


FUNDAAIF.NTAL  DATA  FOR  CITY  PLANNING     371 

in  use,  (b)  elevated  lines  and  stations,  (c)  subways  and 
stations,  and  (d)  any  other  types.  This  map,  superim- 
posed on  the  map  showing  the  street  areas,  will  give  the 
distance  between  car  tracks  and  curb  lines,  and,  superim- 
I)osed  on  the  map  showing  the  distribution  of  population, 
the  density  of  districts  served  by  each  transit  line. 

But,  beyond  this,  it  will  be  necessary  to  make  detailed 
traffic  counts  for  transit  lines  throughout  the  city  in  order 
to  make  a  just  estimate  of  future  needs  and  of  methods  for 
increasing  the  efficiency  of  existing  lines.  Such  a  study  for 
a  normal  day  is  made  by  observers  placed  on  every  fourth 
or  fifth  car  of  every  line,  during  practically  the  entire  day, 
who  make  records  of  the  trip  of  each  passenger,  the  time 
of  day,  route  of  car,  direction,  whether  inbound  or  out- 
bound, street  at  which  passenger  boards  the  car,  the  street 
corner  to  which  he  is  destined  or  the  route  on  which  his 
destination  is  located  (if  reached  by  transfer),  the  fare 
presented,  whether  cash  or  transfer,  and  whether  transfer 
is  taken.  Observations  should  also  be  made  at  important 
points  in  the  city  at  rush  hours,  noting  the  number  of  pas- 
sengers aboard  every  car  passing  the  point  and  the  num- 
ber of  vacant  seats. 

To  make  this  data  available  for  study  in  regard  to  the 
need  of  nczv  rapid-transit  lines,  the  city  may  be  divided 
arbitrarily  into  a  gridiron  of  squares  called  traffic  sections, 
each  covering  one  square  mile  or  less.  From  the  tabula- 
tion of  the  figures  collected  by  the  investigators  and  from 
data  ordinarily  compiled  by  the  operating  companies,  we 
determine  for  each  traffic  section  the  rides  originating  on 
the  day  of  survey,  the  equivalent  revenue  for  the  year,  the 
rides  per  capita  per  annum,  and  the  revenue  ])er  capita  per 
annum,  which,  studied  joiiUly  with  the  population,  density, 
and  acreage  of  the  section,  gives  us  the  basis  for  estimating 
the  probable  use  and  income  from  new  transit  lines  tlirough 
those  sections  which  arc  at  present  inadequately  ser\ed. 


372  CITY  PLAXXIXG 

To  study  the  density  of  the  daily  ebb  and  flow  along 
main  traffic  routes  of  the  system,  charts  may  be  prepared 
from  the  data  in  hand  showing  (  i  )  the  volume  of  traffic 
flowing,  during  a  normal  day.  toward  the  center  of  the 
city  or  point  of  deliverv-,  by  means  of  broad  bands  of  widths 
var\-ing  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  passengers  aboard 
at  intermediate  points  along  the  route :  and  showing,  by 
similar  methods.  (  2  )  the  volume  of  traffic  Rowing  to  the 
outskirts  of  the  city  along  the  principal  routes. 

Apart  from  density  of  traffic,  however,  factors  of  im- 
portance to  the  rider  are  the  time  in  transit  and  the  cost. 
For  the  graphic  illustration  of  the  time  required  to  reach 
the  focus  or  point  of  deliver}-  from  all  points  in  the  circum- 
ferential area,  contour  lines  at  one  to  five  minute  intervals 
are  drawn  through  all  points  in  the  city  from  which  riders 
reach  the  focus  or  city  center  in  equal  times  when  traveling 
by  the  quickest  available  routes,  whether  surface  car,  ele- 
vated, subway  or  steam  roads,  and  including  walking  up  to 
about  a  half-mile  from  each  station. 

For  a  similar  graphic  illustration  of  the  fare  charge 
which  the  rider  is  required  to  pay  to  reach  the  focus  or 
point  of  deliven,-  from  all  points  in  the  circumferential  area. 
contour  lines  are  drawn  through  points  from  which  riders 
reach  the  focus  at  equal  cost  1  tive.  ten.  fifteen  cents,  etc.) 
when  traveling  by  all  available  routes. 

Both  time  and  fare  zones  may  be  colored  between  con- 
tour intervals,  which,  in  connection  with  the  population  map, 
tell  a  graphic  story  as  to  (  i  )  what  districts  are  having  com- 
paratively quick  transit  and  what  are  in  need  of  immediate 
provision  for  more  rapid  means  of  com.munication  with  the 
business  center  of  the  city,  and  i  2  '  what  sections  are 
getting  comparatively  cheap  transit  and  what  areas  are  de- 
prived of  opportunity  for  normal  deveIo[iment  by  expen-ive 
ri'iing  and  consequent  diminution  of  intercourse  with  the 
oit\-'s  center. 


FUXDAMEXTAL  DATA  FOR  CITY  PLAN XI XG     2>7Z 

There  is  no  problem  in  connection  with  the  city  plan 
which  deserves  more  effort  and  outlay  for  the  collection 
of  fimdamental  data  than  that  of  transit,  especially  when 
viewed  in  the  light  of  the  profound  effect  which  quick, 
comfortable,  and  cheap  facilities  have  exerted  on  the  growth 


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5 

Fundaniental  data  en  trains::  toi:ch:r.g  ccnditicr.f  p.~?:  and  pre^nt.  fhovvir.g 
routes,  trarric  dens:!>-,  t::-.:e  a!:d  fare  zone?.  i.:c..  \vi".".  r»e  require.'..  .\p- 
proxiniately  joo.ooo  peopJe  cr:er  and.  !ea^■e  the  "Fo-jr  C:rr.er~"  in 
the  city  of  Xewark  upon  tl-.e  tr:!!c>  c.^r?  e.";ch.  d.;y  frcn:  r  A.M.  t:^ 
~  P.M.  The  greatest  prcr^ortin  c:  ::::>  ir.'.\e'.  ;~  north,  an..".  \\l~:.  as 
showr.  bv    the  width  of  th.e  Lr.nds  in    the  di.-acra:-.     Tiiese  ii'nstr.'.te  the 


proportion  ci  travel  upon  e: 


;ne  various  r^:  tr 


and   prosperity   of    those   cities    liiat    ha\e   approached    the 
jiroblcni  in  a  comprehensive  way. 

Kaih^axs:  rassr>:.:i'>-  7^cr}i::):,:Is. — .\  \'erv  luitt-ni  innucncc 


374  CITY  PLANNING 

in  the  arrangement  of  the  street  and  transit  system,  and 
in  the  layout  of  the  business  and  residential  districts,  is 
exerted  by  the  location  of  the  railway  terminals.  Moreover, 
their  design  and  operation  vitally  affect  the  speed  and  cheap- 
ness of  traffic  handling  and,  consequently,  the  number  of 
trains  which  can  be  sent  out  of  or  received  at  the  terminal 
at  the  rush  periods.  Complete  data  bearing  on  all  phases 
of  the  problem  will  be  essential,  therefore,  in  working  out 
a  comprehensive  plan  for  all  the  railways  entering  the 
city. 

We  should  have  a  map  showing  the  entire  terminal  area 
in  the  city  now  occupied  by  railroads,  showing  those  de- 
voted exclusively  to  passenger  traffic,  and  denoting  by  dif- 
ferent colors  the  railroad  property  fully  occupied,  that 
which  is  only  partially  utilized,  and  that  w-hich  is  now  un- 
used, and,  in  addition,  the  property  which  is  controlled  by 
the  separate  railroad  systems.  The  present  assessed  value 
of  the  various  parcels  of  land  under  occupancy  and  the 
assessed  value  of  private  property  contiguous  to  the  railroad 
right  of  way  should  be  noted. 

Detailed  plans  should  be  drawn  showing  the  layout  of 
each  of  the  present  railroad  passenger  terminals.  These 
detailed  plans  will  include  (a)  a  plan  of  the  layout  of  the 
track  system,  whether  through,  loop,  or  stub,  (b)  a  plan  of 
the  throat  arrangement,  showing  methods  of  switching  for 
both  suburban  and  long  distance  trains,  (c)  the  location  of 
coach  yards  and  of  other  auxiliary  plants  and  buildings, 
(d)  the  arrangement  of  waiting  rooms,  concourses,  and 
platforms,  and,  as  an  adjunct  to  the  study,  (e)  the  plan  of 
the  surrounding  streets  and  approaches,  and  of  all  rapid- 
transit  and  surface-car  service.  In  this  connection,  special 
traffic  counts  in  the  streets  and  intersections  adjacent  to 
the  terminal  will  be  taken  for  a  normal  day,  and,  particu- 
larly, at  the  rush  hours,  separating  the  automobile,  horse- 
drawn   and   pedestrian   traffic,   and   as   far   as   possible  the 


FUNDAMENTAL  DATA  FOR  CITY  PLANNING     375 

traffic  which  originates  in  the  terminal  itself,  at  nearby 
freight  stations,  or  at  other  special  sources. 

Data  on  the  .volume  of  suburban  and  through  train  traffic 
for  a  normal  day  and  for  the  rush  hours  should  be  secured, 
showing  the  number  of  trains  both  inbound  and  outbound, 
the  time  consumed  in  the  separate  movement  of  each  train, 
the  average  number  of  cars  and  passengers  per  train,  the 
daily  passenger  movement  of  each  type,  the  tonnage  and 
number  of  pieces  of  baggage,  mail,  and  express  handled,  the 
methods  by  which  the  latter  is  taken  on  and  off  trains,  and 
the  destination  of  each  class  of  tonnage,  whether  for  local 
or  through  points. 

Similarly,  statistics  should  be  collected  from  all  available 
sources  showing  the  yearly  passenger  business  in  the  city 
and  for  the  entire  country  for  several  years  past,  showing 
the  passengers  carried,  the  passenger  miles,  the  average 
revenue  per  passenger,  the  operating  expenses,  and  operat- 
ing revenues,  on  which  an  estimate  of  probable  future 
growth  of  traffic  and  revenues  may  be  based. 

Raikvays:  Freight  Terminals. — Any  revision,  enlarge- 
ment, or  consolidation  of  the  freight  terminal  facilities  now 
in  existence,  aimed  at  an  adjustment  or  better  articulation 
of  such  facilities  in  a  comprehensive  city  plan,  must  be 
based  on  a  detailed  and  far-reaching  investigation  of  th.e 
operation,  location,  and  design  of  all  existing  railroad  prop- 
erties for  handling  freight.  Such  an  investigation  will  re- 
quire (a)  a  determination  of  the  present  traffic  of  all  roads, 
both  for  through  and  local  freight,  and  in  each  case  for  that 
arriving  in  carload  and  in  less  than  carload  (l.c.l.)  lots, 
and  (b)  a  study  of  existing  terminal  facilities. 

A  map  should  l)e  prepared  showing  the  location  of  the 
break-u])  or  receiving  freight  yards  of  the  various  roads  in 
the  terminal  district  and  in  the  outlying  regions. 

Diagrams  should  be  prcj^ared  showing  the  number  of 
inbound  cars,  daily  and  the  per  cent,  of  these  interchanged 


376 


CITY  PLANNING 


COMMITTEE  ON  THE   CITV    PI-AN 
MAP    SHOWING 

DOCKS  AND  TERMINALS 

IN 

NEW  YORK    CITY 

VICINITY 


A  very  potent  influence  in  the  arrnngcnient  of  the  street  and  transit  system 
and  in  tlic  layout  of  the  industrial  and  residential  districts  is  exerted 
i)y  the  location  of  the  rail  and  water  terminals  for  ])assenRers  and 
freight.  The  above  diagram  shows  at  a  very  small  scale  the  outstand- 
ing features  as  existing  in  New  York.  More  detailed  maps  at  a  large 
scale  will  he  re(|uircd  for  each  jjhase  of  this  difficult  and  vital  problem. 


FUXDAMI-XTAL  DATA   1<()R  CITY   PLAXXlXd     377 

via  l)elt  lines,  via  direct  switching,  and  delivered  locally  via 
freight  lines,  car  floats,  team  tracks  or  industry  sidings, 
with  which  should  he  shown  the  movement  of  outhound 
traffic. 

A  diagram  should  he  prepared  showing  daily  total  pack- 
age freight  husiness,  i.  e.,  in  less  than  carload  lots,  in.di- 
cating  the  numher  of  tons  inhound,  with  per  cent,  inter- 
changed via  cars  and  team  to  connecting  roads,  and  per  cent, 
for  local  delivery  via  teams,  industrial  cars  and  lighters, 
and  similarly  for  outgoing  tonnage. 

The  cost  and  volume  of  the  transfer  husiness  through 
the  centra]  district  due  to  distrihuted  terminals  ought  to 
he  determined  for  the  purpose  of  evaluating  the  comparative 
advantages  of  possible  new  arrangements  or  the  consolida- 
tion of   facilities. 

Charts  should  be  prepared,  showing  the  direction  and 
volume  of  freight  movement  along  established  routes  on 
the  city  map,  showing  the  number  of  cars  per  month  by 
broad  bands,  properly  proportioned  in  width,  noting  goods 
for  local  consumption  and  for  points  beyond  the  city. 

Data  should  be  collected  and  graphically  illustrated  show- 
ing the  detention  of  cars  at  team  and  industry  sidings  held 
after  setting  and  notification,  noting  the  number  for  each 
day  over  a  ten-day  period. 

Data  should  be  had  on  the  comparative  usage  of  areas 
devoted  to  inbound,  outbound,  and  combined  houses,  l\v 
districts,  within  the  business  district,  showing  for  all  tyjjcs 
the  ground  floor  area  of  the  freight  house,  the  total  area 
of  house  and  tracks,  the  total  car  standing  cajiacity,  rmd 
the  average  tonnage  handled  ]ier  day.  Similar  data  on  (he 
comparative  usage  of  team  tracks  should  be  com])iled. 

All  of  this  data  will  jicrmit  of  close  study  of  tlie  ])rcsent 
efficiency  of  freight  handling  ])y  the  facilities  now  prox  idcd, 
looking  toward  a  plan  fcM"  more  intensi\e  uses  of  tliese 
properties,    the    proxision    for    new    yards   or   terminals,   or 


37S  CITY  PLANNING 

for  joint  operation  in  accordance  with  a  comprehensive 
scheme. 

IVaterzi'ays:  Freight  and  Passenger  Terminals. — The  data 
required  for  a  study  of  waterway  improvement  will  include 
a  statement  of  the  number  of  vessels  of  various  types  en- 
tering the  port  for  a  series  of  years  past,  of  their  tonnage, 
of  the  charges  for  the  use  of  port  facilities,  and  of  the  class 
of  business:  (i)  ocean  ship  to  coasting  ship,  (2)  ocean 
ship  to  railway,  (3)  ocean  ship  to  warehouse,  (4)  ocean 
ship  to  barge  canal,  etc.  Special  trafific  counts  as  to  the 
character  and  extent  of  traffic,  water-l^orne,  railway  and 
vehicular,  at  points  of  special  concentration  will  be  re- 
quired. 

Plans  should  be  drawn  to  uniform  scale  showing  the 
types  of  port  development  and  the  nearby  water  front  as 
existing,  showing  breakwater,  approach  channels  and  depth, 
basins,  docks,  piers,  dry  docks,  where  any  or  all  of  these 
exist,  and  the  adjacent  street  system  and  means  of  approach. 
The  total  water  area  and  lineal  quayage  of  docks  and  basins 
should  be  noted. 

The  dimensions  of  docks,  types  of  shed  construction,  the 
supply  of  hydraulic,  electric,  and  other  pozver  cranes, 
winches  and  capstans,  at  different  docks,  quays,  and  ware- 
houses, with  capacity  and  number  of  each,  and  the  height 
of  lifts,  and  capacity  and  distribution  of  floating  cranes,  if 
any,  should  be  noted.  All  warehouse  and  storage  areas 
in  proximity  to  the  water  front,  the  floor  space,  types  of 
construction,  capacity  for  various  types  of  merchandise, 
value  of  contents  at  normal  periods,  and  connection  with 
railways  should  be  noted. 

All  port  charges  at  private  or  public  docks  will  be  noted, 
whether  levied  on  the  net  tonnage  or  on  the  basis  of  general 
dock  accommodation. 

The  facts  as  to  the  ownership  of  the  entire  harbor  area, 
the   capital   invested   by   all   interests   in   terminal   develop- 


FUNDAMENTAL  DATA  FOR  CITY  PLANNING    379 

ments,  the  revenues  and  expenditures,  the  dock  tonnage, 
rates  on  vessels,  the  dry-dock  rates,  dock  rent,  dues  on 
goods,  receipts  at  warehouses,  the  interest  charges,  cost  of 
dredging,  Hghthouses,  Hghtships,  and  insurance  will  be  noted. 

Plans  for  all  docks,  piers,  and  landing  stages  and  ap- 
proaches devoted  to  passenger  traffic  will  be  made,  noting 
the  proximity  to  main-line  railways,  street-car  and  rapid- 
transit  lines,  and  the  facilities  for  handling  baggage  and 
for  conducting  customs  examination. 

Cost  income  and  data  similar  to  that  outlined  above  will 
be  collected  in  regard  to  passenger  terminal  operations. 


Methods  of  Control 

A  city  plan  that  is  practicable  and  capable  of  realization 
at  a  time  not  too  remote  must  be,  to  a  considerable  extent, 
the  resultant  of  studies  based  on  the  legal  and  financial  ex- 
pedients included  in  the  existing  administrative  powers  of 
the  local  government.  For  that  reason,  a  study  of  methods 
of  control  of  land  and  buildings,  of  powers  for  the  regula- 
tion of  public  utilities,  street  traffic,  and  public  nuisances, 
will  form  an  essential  part  of  our   fundamental  data. 

Building  Regulation. — A  knowledge  of  the  laws  affect- 
ing the  erection  and  maintenance  of  buildings  in  the  city 
and  of  the  best  practice  in  other  cities  will  be  essential, 
as  well  as  a  knowledge  of  the  powers  conferred  on  various 
departments  of  the  local  government  having  control  over 
structural  matters,  and  the  channels  of  appeal  from  their 
decisions.  The  specific  requirements  in  this  respect  will 
touch  on  the  laws  relating  to  domestic  hygiene  in  rooming 
houses  and  tenements  and  in  si^ecial  manufacturing  and 
trade  l)nil(lings,  as  also  tlie  structural  re(|uirements  for  these 
and  other  buildings  in  regard  to  wall  openings  and  the  pro- 
vision of  o])en  spaces,  including  interior  and  exterior  courts, 


38o  CITY  PLANNING 

and  the  limitation  of  building  heights.  The  laws  relating 
to  publie  and  semi-i)ublic  buildings  and  resorts — theaters, 
music  halls,  churches,  etc. — will  be  included  in  this  review, 
as  well  as  provisions  affecting  dangerous  and  neglected 
structures,  and  aimed  at  securing  a  reduction  in  the  fire 
hazard,  particularly  in  tenements,  workshops  and  amuse- 
ment resorts. 

Execution  of  Public  Improvements. — The  laws  and  ordi- 
nances affecting  the  construction  and  protection  of  sewers 
and  conduits  and  the  control  of  drains  and  sanitary  fittings 
in  houses  and  factories  should  be  studied. 

The  ordinances  and  acts  relating  to  the  cutting  through, 
widening,  extending,  closing,  and  paving  of  streets  and  high- 
ways should  be  studied,  particularly  with  reference  to  the 
liability  of  abutting  property  owners,  and  the  standards  of 
width  and  arrangement  provided  for  different  uses.  The 
legal  principles  involved  in  matters  pertaining  to  setbacks, 
encroachments,  and  other  building  frontage  lines  should  be 
reviewed. 

Public  Franchises. — An  investigation  of  the  franchises 
under  which  public  service  corjjorations  are  operating, 
whether  in  the  matter  of  water,  sewerage,  gas,  electricity, 
or  transportation,  should  be  undertaken,  and  all  franchise 
terms  should  be  carefully  studied  to  determine  on  w^ays  and 
means  by  which  the  city  may  require  improved  service,  or 
by  what  method  and  at  what  time  the  city  may,  by  purchase 
or  otherwise,  come  into  possession  of  the  properties.  The 
study  of  model  franchises,  existing  and  proposed,  and  of 
expedients  a(loi)te(l  in  other  communities,  will  be  valuable. 

^^'here  tlic  public  service  is  rendered  by  the  municipality 
an  in\cstigation  of  rates  and  service  rendered  and  a  com- 
parison of  tlicse  with  similar  rates  and  service  in  other 
communities  should  be  undertaken. 

TralTic  Rcf/iilafion. — All  existing  local  regulations  aimed 
at  increasini,^  the  speed,  volume,  and  con\"enicnce  of  street 


FUNDAMENTAL  DATA  FOR  CITY  PLANNING    381 

travel,  should  be  investigated  with  a  view  to  adapting  these 
to  new  needs  which  the  survey  of  the  street  system  has  em- 
phasized. 

Abatement  of  Nuisances. — The  laws  on  dangerous  and 
noxious  businesses  and  offensive  trades,  on  the  abatement 
of  smoke  and  noise,  and  on  the  removal  of  refuse  and  the 
keeping  of  animals  on  premises  should  be  reviewed. 


Paving  for  Improvements 

In  regard  to  financial  operations,  there  are  several  aspects 
of  the  problem  which  should  be  considered.  These  relate  to 
(a)  private  or  personal  initiative  in  improvement  along  city- 
planning  lines,  (b)  to  organized  semi-public  operations,  (c) 
to  private  enterprise  with  public  aid,  (d)  to  organized  semi- 
public  enterprise  with  public  aid,  and  (e)  to  governmental 
expenditure,  wdicther  by  federal,  state,  or  local  means. 

In  all  of  these  matters  the  city  planner  should  be  familiar 
with  the  fundamental  cost  factors,  such  as  the  cost  of  the 
various  municipal  services  both  for  installation  and  main- 
tenance, as  sewage  disposal,  water  supply,  garbage  disposal, 
refuse  collection,  street  cleaning,  street  paving  of  various 
types,  and,  also,  the  cost  of  building  construction  of  various 
sorts — particularly  houses  for  workingmen  and  recreational 
or  administrative  buildings. 

For  those  improvements  wdiich  are  to  be  undertaken  by 
the  municipality,  he  will  investigate  the  sources  of  public 
revenue,  whether  through  taxation,  special  assessment  for 
benefits,  excess  condemnation  or  otherwise,  as  well  as  the 
])rcsent  extent  and  character  of  the  city's  indebtedness  and 
the  limitations  on  the  borrowing  power  of  the  community. 
Morc()\tT,  he  will  invcsligate  the  laws  and  decisions  relat- 
ing to  the  inunici])al  ownersliip  and  acquisition  of  land, 
wlietlier  by  l)e(|uest,  coiuleinnation.  or  purchase. 


382 


CITY  PLANNING 


Finally,  he  will  make  himself  familiar  with  all  types  of 
administrative  bodies  charged  with  devising  and  executing 


i^-^_ 


Land  values  have  a  strong  influence  on  the  character  of  any  proposals 
which  the  city  planner  will  make  for  the  improvement  of  existing  con- 
ditions. A  map  showing  the  prevailing  land  values,  such  as  that  shown 
herewith,  in  which  the  numerals  indicate  prevailing  assessed  values 
l)er  front  foot  for  inside  lots,  is  an  important  part  fif  the  rctjuircd  data. 


FUNDAMICNTAL  DATA  FOR  CITY  PLAxMNTNG     383 


CITYOrSACRAMlNIO 

PKt  JJSflWKY  cm  It  AWING  .^TlDlliS 

JOtIN  NO*  IN  Cni  IIAWLK 
C'V)«WI(Kit     M05 

EXISTING  CONDITIONS 


city  plans,  with  the  idea  of  promoting  legislation  that  will 
give  to  the  local  controlling  body  the  fullest  jiowers  con- 
sistent with  the  constitulionrd  and  chartered  limitations  of 
the  local   •'■ovcrnnient. 


384  CITY  PLANNING 


Conclusion 

The  collection  and  collation  of  fundamental  data,  such 
as  we  have  briefly  outlined  in  the  foregoing  chapter,  are 
matters  requiring  intelligent  and  persevering  efforts,  over 
an  extended  period  of  time,  by  an  organization  specially 
charged  with  work  of  this  character.  The  total  cost  will 
vary,  and  it  will  not  be  small  in  any  instance,  but  with 
the  widened  appreciation  of  the  character  and  importance 
of  such  data  in  all  city-planning  work,  the  acquisition  of 
them  will  constitute  in  the  future  one  of  the  permanent 
functions  of  a  well-organized  city  government. 


Bibliography 

Adams,  Thomas.  Scope  for  Municipal  Activity  Pending  Town 
Planning  Legislation.  American  City,  May,  191 5,  pp. 
379-380. 

American  Society  of  Municipal  Improvements.  Reports  of  the 
Traffic  Committee  Convoition  Proceedings. 

Arnold,  Bion  J.  Report  on  Railroad  Terminals,  City  of  Chi- 
cago, to   Citizens'   Terminal   Plan   Committee.      November, 

1913- 

Aronovici.  Carol.  Knowing  One's  Own  Community.  Sugges- 
tions for  Social  Surveys  of  Small  Cities  or  Towns.  De- 
partment of  Social  and  Public  Service,  Social  Service 
Series,  Bulletin  No.  20.     Boston,     yy  pp. 

Baltimore,  Topographical  Survey  Commission.  Report,  1910- 
12.     Baltimore.  1911-13.     60  pp. 

Blanch  ARD,  A.  H.  Value  of  the  Traffic  Census  in  the  Fxo- 
nomical  Design  of  Highways.  Engineering  and  Contract- 
ing, xxxix,  lanuary  22,  1913,  p.  97. 

Brinton,  Wili.ari,  C.  Graphic  Methods  for  Presenting  Facts. 
New  York.   1914.     371  pp. 


FUNDAMENTAL  DATA  FOR  CITY  PLANNING    385 

Chicago  Harbor  Commission.     Report.     1910. 

Cunningham,  Bryson.     Harbor  Engineering. 

Diisscldorf,  Germany.  Data  for  a  City  Plan  of  Diisseldorf, 
Prepared  for  Information  of  Competitors,  191 1.  Summary 
by  John  Nolen  in  Landscape  Architecture,  ii,  no.  2. 

Ford,  G.  B.  The  City  Scientific.  Proceedings  of  Fifth  Na- 
tional Conference  on  City  Planning,  1913,  pp.  31-45. 

l''ORD,  Jamks.  Report  on  Housing  made  for  E.  P.  Goodrich 
and  George  B.  Ford,  and  submitted  to  City  Plan  Commis- 
sion of  Newark,  N.  J.     1912. 

Gkddes,  Patrick.  City  Deterioration  and  the  Need  of  a  City 
Survey.  Annals  of  the  American  Academy  of  Political 
and  Social  Science,  July,   1909,  pp.  54-67. 

.     The    Civic    Survey    of    Edinburgh.     Edinburgh,     1911, 

574  pp. 

Cities  in  Evolution.     London,  191 5.     409  pp. 

Goodrich,  E.  P.,  and  Ford,  Geo.  B.  Report  of  Suggested  Plan 
of  Procedure  Submitted  to  City  Plan  Commission  of  Jersey 
City,  N.  J.     1913.     64  pp. 

Howard,  J.  W.  A  Proposed  Standard  Record  of  Street  Traffic. 
Engineering  Nezcs,  Ixix,  January  2,  1913.     pp.  4-6. 

Kenngott,  George  F.  The  Record  of  a  City,  a  Social  Survey 
of  Lowell,   Massachusetts.     New   York,    1912.       257  pp. 

New  York  City,  Development  and  Present  Status  of  City  Plan- 
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of  Estimate  and  Apportionment.     191 5. 

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sion, December  29,  1913.  Geo.  B.  I-'ord,  Director  of  Inves- 
tigations. 

Nolen,  John.  I'reliminary  Report  to  the  City  Plan  Commis- 
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Pray,  James  S.  Tlie  Survey  for  a  City.  Proccrdi)igs  of  Fiftli 
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Russell  Sage  lunuulation,  Department  of  Surveys  and  Exhibits. 
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386  CITY  TLANNING 

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Improvement.    Good  Roads  Magazine,  January  4,  1913. 

Stephens,  George  W.,  and  Cowie,  Frederick  W.  Report  on 
British  and  Continental  Ports  to  the  Harhor  Commission- 
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xviii,  no.  18, 


CHAPTER    XVII 

CITY    FINANCING    AND    CITY    PLANNING 

In  the  literature  and  discussions  on  city  planning,  the 
phrase  "the  l)ills  for  city  planning"  occurs  so  often  that 
there  is  a  prevailing  impression  that  city  planning  is  no  more 
than  a  bill  producer — an  expensive  luxury  for  which  munici- 
pal credit  must  be  strained  and  new  and  heavy  burdens 
borne  by  the  taxpayers  This  impression  may  be  gained 
also  from  the  reports  of  city  planners  and  city-plan  com- 
missions. It  is  the  usual  thing  for  a  city-plan  report  to  con- 
clude with  several  recommendations  for  improvements  which 
demand  a  great  outlay  of  money.  It  is  not  unusual  for 
the  city-plan  commission,  after  the  first  few  months  of  its 
history,  to  report  that  its  task  is  almost  hopeless  because  of 
the  great  difficulty  in  financmg  even  the  needed  improve- 
ments. These  discouraging  conditions  are  due  to  dififerent 
causes  in  dififerent  communities,  but  there  are  some  causes 
which  probably  exist  in  every  American  city.  If  a  city  is 
alive,  it  is  bound  in  twenty-five  years  of  normal,  healthy 
development  to  have  greater  community  needs.  A  city 
of  500,000  becomes  crowded  in  a  street  plan  adequate 
for  a  city  of  200,000.  A  city  of  100,000  needs  parks 
and  playgrounds  which  might  be  thought  luxuries  in  a  city 
of  25,000,  and  if  the  quarter-century's  growth  has  been 
without  regulation  and  in  accordance  with  no  plan,  the 
community's  bill  must  be  greatly  increased  by  the  heavy 
expense  for  correction  of  errors.  Tin's  is  a  usual  condi- 
tion in  .Xmcrican  cities,  but  it  is  not  a  bill  for  city  i)lanning. 

,^87 


388  CITY  PLANNING 

It  is  a  bill  for  surgical  services,  and  the  size  of  tlie  bill 
cannot  affect  the  need  of  the  operation. 

These  usual  financial  difficulties  may  be  aggravated  by 
limitations  on  the  borrowing  power  of  the  city  or  by  arciiaic 
methods  of  raising  money  or  distributing  the  expense  of  a 
physical  improvement.  In  other  words,  with  the  physical 
growth  of  the  city  there  has  not  been  a  corresponding  de- 
velopment of  a  financial  plan  to  meet  larger  needs.  The 
duty,  then,  of  the  city  planner  is,  not  only  to  show  the 
soundness  of  his  suggestions  for  the  physical  improvement 
of  a  city,  but  to  present  a  plan  for  financing  them.  If  the 
municipalities  are  convinced  that  the  suggested  improve- 
ments are  necessary  and  that  they  will  be  receiving  full 
value  for  money  spent  on  them,  obstacles  to  their  financing 
which  are  caused  by  archaic  limitations  on  borrowing  abil- 
ity or  obsolete  methods  should  be  relegated  to  the  junk  heap. 

The  wisdom  of  proposed  improvements  depends  entirely 
on  local  conditions  with  which  we  are  not  concerned  in 
this  chapter.  We  shall  assume  that  the  prophetic  function 
has  been  fulfilled  for  a  healthy  city  of  from  100,000  to  150,- 
000  inhabitants ;  the  rate  and  direction  of  the  city's  growth 
for  the  next  fifty  years — about  as  far  ahead  as  it  is  safe 
even  for  a  planner  to  look  into  the  future — have  been  esti- 
mated ;  the  main  arteries  of  the  newer  city  have  been  plot- 
ted ;  the  areas  for  industrial  and  residential  occupation  have 
been  indicated,  and  the  sites  for  parks,  playgrounds  and 
other  public  open  spaces  have  all  been  determined,  and  the 
suggestion  made  that  a  generous  area  in  suitable  locations 
be  acquired  for  a  "reserve  account"  to  be  drawn  on  as 
future  needs  arise ;  the  transit  problem  has  been  studied  and 
recommendations  made.  The  determination  of  these  and 
the  planning  of  the  city  in  accordance  with  this  determina- 
tion will  go  far  to  establish  the  plan  as  the  path  of  least 
resistance  in  the  city's  future  development. 

As  this  chapter  is  not  concerned  with  the  wisdom  of  im- 


CITY  1-lNANCING  AND  CITY   PLANNING        389 

provements,  neither  is  it  primarily  concerned  with  the  finan- 
cial policy  of  the  city  as  between  borrowing  by  bond 
issues  and  the  pay-as-you-go  plan.  A  judicious  combina- 
tion of  the  two  j)lan!r  is  still  pretty  generally  agreed  to  be 
the  most  practical  policy  Certainly  to  pay  for  a  costly 
permanent  improvement,  such  as  a  modern  water-supply  sys- 
tem, out  of  taxation  would  result  in  a  tremendously  bur- 
densome tax  rate,  unfair  to  the  present  taxpayer  and  dis- 
astrous to  the  development  of  the  town.  The  important 
thing  is  that  the  city  or  town  should  have  a  financial  policy 
or  plan,  and  tlie  real  business  of  tlie  planner  is  to  show 
that  a  plan  for  physical  growth  is  as  essential  as  a  financial 
plan — that  the  two  are  so  mutually  de])cn(lent  as  to  make 
it  unimportant  to  consider  which  is  more  essential. 

The  truth  of  this  seems  to  need  but  little  illustration. 
One  of  the  heaviest  expenditures  in  rapidly  growing  cities 
is  for  street  widening  and  extension,  made  necessary  by 
errors  in  planning,  many  of  which  could  have  been  avoided 
by  ordinary  foresight.  In  1914  the  city  of  Boston  spent 
$1,300,000  to  make  a  new  street  in  the  heart  of  the  con- 
gested business  district.  Before  this  street  was  cut  through 
there  was  no  cross  street  from  Boylston  to  West  Street,  a 
distance  of  about  a  thousand  feet,  in  one  of  the  busiest  re- 
tail districts  in  the  city.  The  necessity  of  such  a  street  cer- 
tainly could  have  been  foreseen  thirty  or  forty  years  ago 
and  the  operation  efl^ectcd  without  such  a  large  outlay.  The 
widening  and  extending  of  Seventh  Avenue  in  New  York 
City  in  1913,  at  an  estimated  cost  of  $4,344,000,  is  another 
notable  instance.  The  acquisition  of  sites  for  public  l)uild- 
ings  is  also  an  unnecessarily  heavy  burden  resulting  from 
the  common  practice  of  cities  to  purchase  their  sites  at  top 
figures  or  get  them  through  the  very  expensive  condemna- 
tion method. 

With  a  i)lan,  a  reasonably  accurate  forecast  of  land  needed 
for  a  quarter  of  a  century  ahead  could  be  made.      If  the 


390 


CITY  PLANNING 


present  price  of  such  land,  plus  the  carrying  charges  for  a 
period  of  from  ten  to  thirty  years,  showed  a  saving  over 
the  probable  purchase  price  at  the  time  when  the  city  actu- 
ally needed  the  land,  it  would  be  good  business  to  buy  the 
land  now.  With  the  help  of  a  committee  of  real-estate  ap- 
praisers, whose  business  success  depends  on  their  ability 
to  gauge  future  values,  this  determination  could  be  made 
with  a  fair  measure  of  exactness,  and  the  occasional  losses 
on  account  of  miscalculation  would  be  offset  by  the  great 
gain  to  the  city  in  being  able  to  select  the  most  desirable 
sites  at  reasonable  prices.  In  this  connection,  an  interesting 
table  was  prepared  by  Mayor  Gaynor's  committee  on  con- 
gestion of  population  in  1912.  The  committee  examined 
the  value  of  943  city  sites  which  had  been  acquired  at  dif- 
ferent times  from  1812  to  1908  and  found  that  the  assessed 
valuations  in  537  cases  increased  at  least  25  per  cent,  over 
the  price  paid.  Of  the  406  parcels  which  showed  little  or 
no  increase  over  the  purchase  price,  230  had  been  acquired 
since  1900,  and  had  been  held  by  the  city  only  from  three 


Per  Cent,  of  Increase  in  Value  of  Site 

Sites  Which  In- 
creased in  Value 
as  Specified 

Less  than  25  per  cent 

25  and  less  than     loi  per  cent 

loi  and  less  than     201  per  cent 

91 

1 54 
94 
42 

43 
17 
18 
10 

201  and  less  than     301  per  cent 

301  and  less  than     401  per  cent 

401  and  less  than     501  per  cent 

501  and  less  than     601  per  cent 

601  and  less  than     701  per  cent 

701  and  less  than     801  per  cent    

12 

801  and  less  than     901  per  cent    

10 

901  and  less  than  i  001  per  cent      

6 

I  001  and  less  than  i  501  per  cent        

II 

1,501  and  less  than  2,001  per  cent 

10 

2,001  or  more 

19 

Total 

537 

CITY  FINANCING  AND  CITY  PLANNING        391 

to  ten  years.  The  table  would,  of  course,  have  been  of 
much  more  value  if  the  time  of  acquisition  had  been  in 
some  way  indicated,  but  it  is  certain  that  only  very  few 
sites  had  been  in  the  city's  possession  more  than  fifty  years. 
Rut  it  is  not  enough  for  the  planner  to  show  the  general 
financial  advantage  resulting  from  a  city  plan.  He  is  told 
that  all  the  revenue  from  taxation  must  be  appropriated  for 
immediate  needs,  for  the  upkeep  of  the  present  city  plant, 
and  the  payment  of  interest  on  present  indebtedness ;  that 
the  tax  rate  cannot  be  increased,  that  the  city  is  up  to  the 
limit  of  its  borrowing  ability,  and  that  there  are  conse- 
quently no  available  funds  for  new  work.  He  must  show  the 
appropriating  bodies,  specifically,  not  only  how  to  get  more 
for  available  money,  but  how  to  make  more  money  available 
for  carrying  out  the  recommendations  in  the  city  plan. 


Increasing  the  City's  Borrowing  Ability 

The  limit  of  a  city's  borrowing  ability,  that  is  the  amount 
of  net  indebtedness  which  cannot  be  exceeded,  is  generally 
fixed  either  in  the  state  constitution  or  city  charter  as  a 
certain  per  cent,  of  a  city's  assessed  valuation.^  This  per- 
centage varies  greatly,  as  appears  from  the  following  data : 

Seattle  and  Other  Cities  of  Washington :  i^-'j  per  cent,  and 
an  increase  of  5  per  cent.,  with  the  assent  of  three-fifths 
of  the  voters,  for  water,  light,  and  sewers,  when  such  pub- 
lic utilities  are  owned  and  controlled  1w  the  cities. 

Detroit:     2  per  cent.,  exclusive  of  water  bonds. 

Boston  and  Other  Massaehitselts  Cities:  2j,{>  per  cent.,  and 
Massaehnsetts  toiens:  3  ]>cr  cent.,  both  exclusive  of  debts  for 
water,  Hghting,  and  payment  of  grade-crossing  damages. 
Bonds  for  bghting  alone  may  be  issued  not  exceeding  5  per 

^  Assessed   valuation   may   var}-   from   full   luarkct   value   down  to 
50  per  cent,  of  sucli   value. 


392  CITY  PLANNING 

cent,  of  assessed  valuation  in  a  town ;  2^^  per  cent,  in  a  city. 

Denver:  3  per  cent.,  exclusive  of  bonds  for  water,  lighting, 
and  other  public  utilities,  works,  or  ways  from  which  the 
city  derives  a  revenue. 

Cities  of  Ohio:  4  per  cent.,  exclusive  of  bonds  for  (i)  water 
works,  when  the  income  from  the  said  works  covers  the  cost 
of  operating,  interest,  and  sinking  fund,  and  (2)  bonds  to 
be  paid  for  by  special  assessment  on  property  specially  bene- 
fited by  an  improvement.  A  two-thirds  vote  is  necessary 
for  the  issue  of  all  bonds  which  make  the  net  indebtedness 
exceed  4  per  cent. 

Cities  of  Illinois:     5  per  cent. 

Cities  of  Wisconsin:     5  per  cent. 

Cities  of  Minnesota:  5  per  cent.,  exclusive  of  bonds  (i)  for 
construction  of  public  drainage  ditches;  (2)  for  acquiring 
land  for  streets,  parks,  and  other  public  improvements,  when 
such  are  payable  from  the  proceeds  of  special  assessment; 
(3)  for  water  works,  public  lighting,  heating,  and  power 
plants;  (4)  for  acquisition  of  street  railways,  telephone  or 
telegraph  lines,  or  any  public  convenience  from  which  rev- 
enue is  or  may  be  derived. 

Pennsylvania:    7  per  cent. 

Nezv  York:     10  per  cent.,  exclusive  of  water  bonds. 

Nebraska:  10  per  cent.,  and  an  increase  of  5  per  cent,  with 
the  assent  of  two-thirds  of  the  voters. 

If  10  per  cent,  is  a  safe  limit  in  New  York,  2  per  cent. 
is  unduly  conservative.  Certainly  where  the  limit  of  bonded 
indebtedness  is  under  5  per  cent,  of  the  assessed  valuation 
and  the  comforts  of  municipal  life  are  denied  to  the  citizens, 
the  limit  should  be  raised. 

To  determine  what  should  be  fixed  as  the  proper  limit 
of  municipal  indebtedness,  it  is  worth  while  considering 
that,  since  interest  diarizes  for  bonds  must  l)e  raised  by 
taxation,  a  limit  on  bonded  indebtedness  has  a  very  practi- 
cal relation  to  the  tax  rate.  W'e  may  assume  that  a  tax 
rate  should  not  exceed  twenty  dollars  a  thousand,  and  that 


CITY  FINANCING  AND  CITY  PLANNING        393 

tlie  town  will  require  at  least  three-quarters  of  the  revenue 
raised  hy  taxation  for  its  ordinary  operatinjr  ex])cnses.  This 
would  leave  about  five  dollars  in  every  thousand  for  inter- 
est on  bonded  indebtedness,  and  it  has  been  estimated  that 
at  the  current  rates  for  municipal  loans  this  would  result  in 
fixing  the  limit  on  borrowing  ability  at  about  ten  per  cent, 
of  the  assessed  valuation. 

The  second  suggestion  for  stretching  the  borrowing  abil- 
ity of  cities  is  indicated  in  the  data  given  above.  It  has 
become  the  general  practice  in  defining  what  is  meant  by 
net  indebtedness  or  borrowing  ability  to  exclude  the  bond 
issues  which  are  made  for  self-supporting  utilities.  Those 
generally  excluded  are  bonds  for  water  and  lighting.  It  is 
as  logical  and  financially  sound  to  exclude  so-called  local 
improvement  bonds  where  the  revenue  for  the  payment 
of  bonds  comes  from  the  assessment  levied  on  private  prop- 
erty for  the  special  benefit  resulting  from  the  improvement. 
From  this  idea  comes  also  the  suggestion  that  certain  bonds 
should  not  be  a  general  lial)ility  of  the  city.  Thus  water- 
front improvement  bonds  should  be  secured  only  by  water- 
front property  and  activities.  This  limitation  of  liability 
is  found  in  the  Alinnesota  and  Wisconsin  practice  of  pur- 
chasing land  under  a  contract  calling  for  installment  pay- 
ments.^ It  is  specifically  provided  in  both  the  Minnesota 
and  Wisconsin  law  that  the  contract  shall  not  create  a  cor- 
porate Ha])ility  or  constitute  a  pledge  of  the  general  credit 
of  the  city,  and  in  construing  this  provision  the  supreme 
courts  of  both  states  have  declared  that  there  is  no  obliga- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  city  to  meet  unpaid  installments,  since 
the  city  has  merely  an  option  to  purchase,  with  the  right 
of  possession  until  default  in  payment. - 

^  Acts  of  Wis.,  i8()r,  ch.  179,  s.  S;  S]).  Laws  of  Minn.,  1889,  ch. 
30,  s.  2. 

'^  Ihi nihil))!  V.  MHi'.'diikre,  v)8  Wis.  i_'8;  Krllry  v.  .\!{)i)icapiili.s\  63 
.Minn.    IJ5. 


394  CITY  PLANNING 

Special  Assessments 

The  levying  of  an  assessment  on  property  which  has  re- 
ceived a  special  benefit  because  of  an  improvement  is  the 
American  device  which  is  particularly  attractive  to  the 
planning  financier ;  first,  because  it  seems  to  be  based  on 
the  equitable  principle  of  putting  the  burden  on  the  prop- 
erties that  are  directly  benefited,  and,  second,  because  it 
relieves  the  burden  of  general  taxation.  There  are  many 
striking  examples  of  the  increase  of  value  of  private  prop- 
erty through  the  expenditure  of  the  community's  money  in 
street  widening  and  in  the  establishment  of  parks  and  park- 
ways. Of  those  most  often  cited  is  the  Kansas  City  Park 
development,  where  old  and  unsanitary  properties  were 
wiped  out  and  a  value  was  given  to  the  land  entirely  out 
of  proportion  to  the  municipality's  outlay.  The  laying  out 
of  Prospect  Park  in  Brooklyn  increased  the  value  of  neigh- 
boring land  400  per  cent,  over  a  fixed  period  as  against  100 
per  cent,  in  other  parts  of  the  city,  and  the  increase  result- 
ing from  Central  Park  in  New  York  City  over  the  same 
period  is  estimated  at  800  per  cent,  as  against  100  per  cent, 
for  the  rest  of  the  city.^ 

The  justice  of  the  special  assessment  method  appealed 
so  thoroughly  to  Mr.  Nelson  P.  Lewis,  Chief  Engineer  of 
the  Board  of  Estimate  and  Apportionment,  New  York  City, 
when  presenting  the  subject  "Paying  the  Bills  for  City 
Planning,"  at  the  Boston  meeting  of  the  National  Conference 
on  City  Planning,  in  1912,  that  he  submitted  the  following 
conclusions,  which  were  adopted  by  the  Conference: 

Whereas,  It  is  the  sense  of  the  Conference  that,  however 
admirable  may  be  the  plans  prepared  for  the  improvement  of 
cities,  progress  must  depend  in  large  degree  upon  the  equitable 

^  This  increase  in  assessed  valuation  should -be  included  in  the 
financial  result  of  city  planning. 


CITY  FINANCING  AND  CITY  PLANNING        395 

distribution  of  the  expense  involved  in  the  execution  of  the 
plans  and  in  the  soundness  of  the  methods  employed  in  financ- 
ing them. 

Resolved,  That  the  Conference  hereby  approves  of  the 
five  j^eneral  principles  laid  down  in  the  paper  presented  to  the 
Conference  upon  this  subject  by  Nelson  P.  Lewis  and  com- 
mends them  to  the  cities  here   represented,  namely — 

1.  Where  there  is  local  benefit,  there  should  always  be  local 
assessment  on  the  land  benefited. 

2.  The  entire  city,  or  the  metropolitan  district,  should  bear 
no  part  of  the  expense  unless  the  improvement  is  in  some 
degree  of  metropolitan  im])ortance  and  benefit. 

3.  Assessments  should  not  be  confined  to  the  cost  of  ac- 
quiring and  improving  streets,  but  should  extend  to  any  im- 
provement which  will  increase  the  value  of  the  neighboring 
property,  and  should  be  apportioned  as  nearly  as  possible  ac- 
cording to  the  probable  benefit. 

4.  A  workable  policy  once  adopted  should  be  consistently 
adhered  to. 

5.  The  determination  of  a  policy  and  its  application  to 
each  case  should  be  intrusted  to  a  board  composed  of  men 
especially  qualified,  whose  terms  of  ofiice  should  so  overlap 
as  to  insure  continuity  of  policy  and  purpose. 

These  principles  are  found  in  the  Laws  of  New  York,  Chap- 
ter 679,  Acts  of  191 1,  Section  247: 

Before  a  pul)lic  improvement  of  any  kind  (except  an  im- 
provement to  be  made  jjursuant  to  the  rapid-transit  act)  in- 
volving the  acquisition  or  the  physical  improvement  of  prop- 
erty for  streets,  pul)lic  places,  parks.  Ijridges,  approaches  to 
liridges,  for  the  disposal  and  treatment  of  sewage  or  the  im- 
provement of  the  waterfront,  or  involving  both  such  acquisi- 
tion and  physical  ini])rovenK'nt  of  property,  which  accpiisition 
or  plnsical  ini])r(»venu'nt,  or  bolh,  is  estimated  to  cost  the  sum 
of  fiftv  thousand  dollars  or  more,  shall  be  authorized,  the 
Iioard  of  estimate  and  api)ortionment  may  determine  in  what 
manner  and  in  what   shares  and  projjorlions  the  cost  and  ex- 


396  CITY  PLANNING 

pense  of  the  acquisition  or  physical  improvement,  or  both, 
shall  be  paid  by  the  city  of  New  York,  by  one  or  more  bor- 
oughs thereof,  by  a  part  or  portion  of  one  or  more  boroughs 
thereof,  or  by  the  respective  owners,  lessees,  parties,  and  per- 
sons respectively  entitled  unto  or  interested  in  the  lands,  tene- 
ments, hereditaments,  and  premises  not  required  for  the  said 
improvement,  which  said  board  shall  deem  peculiarly  bene- 
fited thereby. 

There  are  sixteen  instances  of  the  use  of  the  act ;  ^  the 
most  notable  of  which  is  in  the  widening  and  extending  of 
Seventh  Avenue,  where  the  estimated  cost  of  $4,344,000 
was  assessed  as  follows : 

On    neighboring   property    found    specially 

benefited  $1,954,800 

On  the  Borough  of  Manhattan 1,737,600 

On  the  Borough  of  Brooklyn 477,800 

On  the  Borough  of  the  Bronx 173,800 

and  in  the  acquiring  of  East  River  Park,  where  the  esti- 
mated cost  of  $1,300,000  was  assessed  as  follows: 

On  property  specially  benefited $130,000 

On  the  Borough  of  Manhattan 455,000 

On  the  Borough  of  Brooklyn 292,500 

On  the  Borough  of  Queens 422,500 

Assessing  private  property  for  the  benefit  resulting  from 
the  construction  of  a  rapid-transit  line  has  been  seriously 
considered,  and  may  in  rare  instances  in  the  United  States 
have  been  attempted.  It  is  as  logical  and  just  as  any  other 
form  of  special  assessment,  but  is  hardly  more  than  a  field 
for  the  exploration  of  the  financial  planner.  Special  assess- 
ments ])robably  never  will  attain  the  result  of  ])crfectly  dis- 

^  Sec  Report  of  the  Chief  Engineer  of  the  I'oarcl  of  Estimate  and 
Apportionment,   New  York  City   (1913),  p.  40. 


CITY  FINANCING  AND  CITY  PLANNING        397 

tributing  the  cost  of  an  improvement,  but  they  should  in- 
evitably relieve  the  pressure  from  taxation  or  from  bond 
issue.  The  community  gets  an  immediate  return  from  its  out- 
lay and  more  money  is  made  available  for  municipal  needs. 

Excess  Condemnation 

The  same  results  are  claimed  for  the  method  of  financing 
improvements  practised  in  some  European  countries,  and 
known  in  the  United  States  as  excess  condemnation.  By 
constitutional  amendment  in  Massachusetts,  New  York,  and 
Wisconsin,  municipalities  may  acquire  by  purchase  or  con- 
demnation more  land  than  is  actually  needed  for  the  con- 
struction of  an  improvement,  with  the  right  of  resale  after 
the  completion  of  the  improvement.  Property  thus  taken  is 
declared  to  be  taken  for  a  public  use.  In  special  assess- 
ments the  return  to  the  community  comes  from  a  species 
of  tax  on  private  property,  but  in  excess  condemnation  the 
return  comes  through  the  sale  of  the  excess  land  at  an  in- 
creased price  resulting  from  the  improvement.  Its  value 
as  a  financial  expedient  has  hardly  been  tested  in  America, 
and  the  principle  of  the  amendment  is  so  contrary  to  the 
spirit  of  individual  rights  tiiat  rapid  headway  cannot  be  ex- 
pected in  view  of  the  litigation  which  will  follow  its  use. 
There  is  also  a  chance  of  loss.  The  city  is  really  somewhat 
of  a  land  speculator.  \'aKies  may  not  rise  as  soon  as,  or 
as  much  as  estimated,  and  increase  in  value  may  be  offset 
by  carrying  charges. 

The  value  of  excess  condcmnalion  as  a  financial  expedient 
cannot  conclusively  be  shown  l)y  the  figures  which  arc 
available  from  European  countries.  It  a])pcars  from  a  ])ar- 
liamentary  in(|uiry  on  the  subject  in  hjigland  '  lliat  the  con- 
sensus of  those  b(,'sl  informed  was  against  its  use  for  i)nr- 
])oses  of  recoupment  alone.     I^xperiencc  with  the  i)rinciple 

^  6Vt'  .Mass.  House  Document,  No.  288,  of  IQ04,  p.  67  fT. 


398  CITY  PLANNING 

in  Brussels  was  so  costly  that  the  city  barely  escaped  bank- 
ruptcy.^ The  only  instances  of  the  financial  success  of  the 
principle  in  America  known  to  the  writer  are  in  Montreal, 
where  the  following  data  taken  from  official  sources  show 
a  sale  of  excess  land  at  a  profit  to  the  community: 

St.  Lawrence  Boulevard  Opening 

Amount  of  land  taken 102,002  sq.  ft. 

Land  used  for  street  purposes 48,910  sq.  ft. 

Land  sold 53,092  sq.  ft. 

Total  purchase  price $690,570.00 

Net  returns  from  sales 716,194.00 

Profit $25,624.00 

Cartier  Street  Opening 

Land  purchased 130,817  sq.  ft. 

Land  used  as  street 55,637  sq.  ft. 

Land  sold 75,i8o  sq.  ft. 

Total  purchase  price $99,626.00 

Net  proceeds  of  sale 112,443.00 

Profit $12,817.00 

George  Etienne  Cartier  Square 

Land  purchased 164,504  sq.  ft. 

Land  used  as  streets,  lands  and  square..  82,426  sq.  ft. 


Land  sold    82,078  sq.  ft. 

Total  purchase  price $82,252.00 

Net  proceeds  of  sales 99,032.00 

Profit $16,780.00 

Issuance  of  City  Bonds 

Special  assessment  and  excess  condemnation  are  calcu- 
lated to  relieve  the  burden  on  the  general  revenue  ')y  a 
fairer   distribution   of  the   cost   of   the   improvement  over 

*  Mass.  House  Document  No.  1096,  of  1904,  p.  14. 


CITY  FINANCING  AND  CITY  PLANNING        399 

the  area  benefited.  There  remains,  to  speak  of,  a  fairer 
method  of  distributing  the  cost  over  a  period  of  years. 
This  is  well  brought  out  in  the  following  extracts  from  a 
paper  presented  at  the  Conference  on  City  Planning  by  An- 
drew Wright  Crawford,  of  the  Phila(lel])hia  bar; 

The  efficient  life  of  the  thing  constructed  by  the  proceeds  of 
municipal  bonds  should  measure  their  term,  that  efficiency  1)eing 
measured  by  adequacy  of  service  to  the  community,  and  city 
planning  is  indispensable  to  determine  that  length  of  efficient 
life  of  a  municipally  constructed  thing.  Plence  the  issuance 
of  city  bonds  calls  for  city  planning  as  a  prerequisite. 

How  shall  we  equitably  provide  payment  for  things  needed 
now  in  a  measure  which  will  hereafter  be  needed  in  the 
same  or  a  greater  or  conceivably  a  smaller  measure?  This 
question  of  financing  will  find  an  answer  to  some  degree  in 
a  differentiation  among  the  things  constructed  by  the  pro- 
ceeds of  municipal  bonds. 

In  the  case  of  outlying  parks,  we  who  secure  them  should 
pay  the  minimum.  Fifty  years  hence  these  parks,  now  subur- 
ban, and  now  somewhat  of  a  joyous  luxury,  will  be  indis- 
pensable to  their  urban  neighborhoods.  Wc  should  be  able  to 
issue  bonds  for  such  parks  with  a  very  small  sinking-fund 
charge  today,  graded  up  to  a  large  charge  fifty  years  hence — 
more:  we  should  make  park  bonds  run  seventy-five  or  one  hun- 
dred years  and  make  their  present  amortization  charges  neg- 
ligible. 

The  term  of  paving  l)onds  should  be  in  the  neighborhood  of 
fifteen  years,  and  the  immediate  amortization  charge  sliould  be 
very  heavy — the  charge  fourteen  or  fifteen  years  hence  very 
light.  We  who  have  the  pavement  at  its  finest  should  pay  the 
highest  toll. 

Stone  and  concrete  bridges  are  expected  to  last  for  seventy- 
five  years.  Bonds  issued  to  provide  the  money  for  them  should 
run   as  lone.      It    is   more   difficult    to   determine   wbctlicr   tlieir 


400  CITY  PLANNING 

amortization  charges  should  be  graded  up  or  down,  or  kept  at 
one  figure  throughout.  In  the  case  of  centrally  located  bridges, 
perhaps  the  last  course  would  be  advisable.  In  the  case  of 
bridges  in  suburban  territories,  their  future  greater  usefulness 
justifies  a  heavier  future  sinking-fund  charge. 

The  system  of  main  sewers  may  deserve  a  diminishing  amor- 
tization charge — of  main  streets,  an  increasing  one.  Public 
buildings  probably  deserve  a  diminishing  charge  throughout, 
though  possibly  the  summit  of  their  serviceableness  is  neither 
at  the  end  nor  at  the  beginning  of  the  life  of  the  bonds  issued 
for  them,  but  at  some  period  during  that  life — probably  nearer 
its  beginning  than  its  end.  The  deterioration  of  the  physical 
building  must  be  considered,  and  deterioration  begins  at  once. 

On  the  other  hand,  bonds  issued  to  provide  funds  for  the 
acquisition  of  the  real  estate  upon  which  public  buildings  are  to 
be  erected  clearly  deserve  an  increasing  amortization  charge 
throughout.  The  division  for  taxation  purposes  of  land,  from 
improvements  thereon,  will  show  how  markedly  the  former 
often  increases  in  value  while  the  latter  decrease. 

Each  other  city  improvement  should  be  considered  likewise. 

It  is  true  that  some  of  these  suggestions  would  require 
changes  in  state  constitutional  provisions  before  they  could  be 
carried  out.  But  if  city  planning  should  contemplate  a  mini- 
mum of  fifty  years  for  physical  results,  a  minimum  argued  for 
hereafter,  a  delay  of  four  or  five  years  in  order  to  secure  con- 
stitutional changes  is  not  of  paramount  importance.  Consti- 
tutional provisions  and  acts  of  legislatures  will  change  during 
fifty  years  anyway;  there  will  be  much  gain  if  they  are  planned 
to  meet  city-planning  requirements  pari  passu. 

Financial  Results  of  City  Planning 

The  various  devices  for  getting  more  for  the  community's 
outlay,  and  for  making  the  community's  money  go  farther, 
presuppose  a  plan.  The  plan  will  separate  the  industrial 
area  from  the  residential  area  and  increase  the  desirability 
of  l)Oth  for  their  separate  purposes  and  thus  increase  munic- 


CITY  FINANCING  AND  CITY  PLANNING        401 

ipal  revenue.  A  plan  for  the  extension  of  thoroughfares 
and  rapid-transit  Hnes  will  stabilize  real-estate  values  and 
make  special  assessment  for  benefit  fairer  to  the  property 
holder  and  more  remunerative  to  the  community.^  But,  after 
all,  these  are  the  indirect  results  of  city  planning.  Its  chief 
financial  value  is  in  the  prevention  of  errors  of  physical 
development  and  the  consequent  waste  of  community  money. 
If  we  take  the  bill  of  the  typical  American  city  of  over 
200,000  population  for  street  widening  and  extension  and 
establish  thirty  per  cent,  of  it  as  the  amount  which  should 
have  been  saved,  we  get  an  idea  of  the  value  of  the  chief 
product  of  city  planning  and  conclude  that,  rightly  under- 
stood, city  planning  is  the  first  requisite  in  wise  city  finan- 
cing. 

Bibliography 

Aldridge,  .H.  R.,  GiBiss,  E.  M.,  and  Adbiiead,  S.  D.  A  Sym- 
posium on  the  Municipal  Ownership  of  Land.  Tozun  Plan- 
ning Review,  iii,  January,  1913,  pp.  232-239. 

Beck,  H.  C.  Financing  Special  Assessments,  Detroit's  Method 
and  Experience.  Proceedings  of  Annual  Contention  of 
National  Association  of  Comptrollers  and  Accounting  Of- 
ficers, i,  1906,  pp.  31-38. 

BiCKERDiKE,  C.  F.  The  Principle  of  Land  Value  Taxation. 
Economic  Journal,  xxii,  March,  1912,  pp.  1-15. 

Brunner,  a.  W.  The  Business  Side  of  City  Planning.  Na- 
tional Municipal  Rcviezv,  i,  April,   1912,  pp.  236-240. 

Byall,  J.  B.  The  American  System  of  Improving  and  Ad- 
ministering Commercial  Facilities.  Annals  of  the  Ameri- 
can Academy  of  Political  and  Social  Science,  xxiv,  No- 
vember,  1904,  pp.  489-506. 

Chase,  Harvey  S.     Financial  Reports  of  Cities. 

Darwin,   Leonard.     The  Taxation   of   Site  Values   with   Ref- 
erence to  the  Distribution  of  Po])ulation.     Economic  Jour- 
nal, xvii,  September,  1907,  pp.  330-344. 
'  See    footnote   on    page   349    for   another    llnancial    result   of 

city  planning 


402  CITY  PLAXXIXG 

Fels,  Joseph.  Taxation,  Housing  and  Town  Planning.  Amer- 
ican City,  ix,  November,  1913,  pp.  425-427. 

Ford,  G.  B.  The  Relation  of  City  Planning  to  the  Municipal 
Budget.     American  City,  iv,  February,  191 1,  pp.  66-71. 

Getteaiy,  Charles  F.  Annual  Reports  on  the  Comparative 
Financial  Statistics  of  Cities  and  Towns.  Boston,  1906- 
1912. 

Howe,  Frederic  C.  The  Municipal  Real  Estate  Policies  of 
German  Cities.  Proceedings  of  Third  National  Confer- 
ence on  City  Planning,  191 1,  pp.  14-26. 

HuRD,  R.  M.  Principles  of  City  Land  Values.  2d  edition. 
New  York,  1905.     159  pp. 

Lewis,  N.  P.  Financing  a  City  Plan.  Annals  of  the  Ameri- 
can Academy  of  Political  and  Social  Science,  li,  whole  no. 
140,  January,  1914,  pp.  246-253. 

.     Paying  the    Bills    for   City    Planning.     Proceedings   of 

Fourth  National  Conference  on  City  Planning,   191 2,  pp. 
43-56. 

London.  County  Council.  Opening  of  Kingsway  and  Aldvvych 
by  His  Majesty  the  King,  accompanied  by  Her  Majesty 
the  Queen,  on  Wednesday,  October  18,  1905.  London,  1905. 
40  pp. 

Marsh,  B.  C.  Taxation  of  Land  Values  in  American  Cities; 
the  Next  Step  in  Exterminating  Poverty.  New  York,  191 1. 
112  pp. 

Massachusetts.  Bureau  of  Statistics.  Report  of  a  Special  In- 
vestigation Relative  to  the  Indebtedness  of  the  Cities  and 
Towns  of  the  Commonwealth,  April  15,  1912.  (House 
Document,  No.  2168.)     Boston,   1912.     286  pp. 

New  York  City.  Bureau  of  Municipal  Research.  Short  Talks 
on  Municipal  Accounting  and  Reporting,  Nos.  i-io. 

New  York  City.  Commission  on  New  Sources  of  Revenue. 
Report.     New  York,  1913.     116  pp. 

New  York  City.  Commissioner  of  Accounts.  A  Report  on 
an  Investigation  of  Billboard  Advertising  in  New  York 
City.     1 91 2.     39  pp. 

PuKUY,  Lawson.  Condemnation,  Assessments  and  Taxation 
in  Relation  to  City  Planning.     Proceedings  of  Third  Xa- 


CITY  FINANCING  AND  CITY  PLANNING        403 

tional    Conference   on    City   Planning,    191 1,    pp.    1 18-130. 

Unwin,  Raymond.     The  Relation  of  Land  Values  and  Town 

Planning.    Annals  of  the  American  Academy  of  Political 

and  Social  Science,  li,  whole  no.   140,  January,   1914,   i)p. 

25-33- 

,  and  others.     A  Symposium  on  the  Municipal  Ownership 

of  Land.      Town  Planning  Reviexv,   iv,   April,    19 13,    pp. 
13-16. 


CHAPTER    XVIII 
CITY-PLANNING  LEGISLATION 

The  city-planning  movement  in  the  United  States  and 
Canada  lias  begun  but  lately  to  entrench  itself  in  legislation. 
Having,  however,  secured  a  foothold  on  the  statute  books,  its 
advance  is  now  likely  to  be  more  assured.  Meantime,  the  be- 
ginnings are,  as  in  every  such  enterprise,  particularly  inter- 
esting. They  have  also  the  significance  of  marking  a  third 
stage  in  the  progress  of  the  American  city-planning  move- 
ment. 

There  was,  first  of  all,  the  usual  propaganda,  this  lasting 
several  years.  Then  came  an  enunciation  of  general  prin- 
ciples— diverse  arguments  unfolding  gradually  into  the  syl- 
logisms of  a  developing  science ;  and  now,  as  the  third  step, 
there  begins  to  appear  the  embodiment  of  principles  in  laws, 
the  setting  up  of  the  legislative  machinery  to  transform 
theory  into  action.  Clearly,  this  is  immensely  important. 
To  those  who  believe  in  city  planning  it  is  big  in  promise 
for  the  future. 

City-planning  legislation  may  be  divided  into  groups  of 
enactments  having  different  purposes.  Sometimes  these 
enactments  are  to  be  found  in  the  different  sections  of  a 
single  law ;  more  often  they  are  separated.  There  is  the 
general  (permissive  or  mandatory)  legislation,  designed  to 
provide  the  city  or  town  wath  a  planning  commission  ;  there 
is  the  legislation  which  gives  to  such  a  commission  authority 
beyond  the  town  or  city  boundaries — to  the  end  that  its 
planning  may  really  look  into  the  future — and  tliat  permits 

404 


CTTY-PT,ANNING   LKGTSLATIOX  405 

different  legislation  for  the  different  parts  of  a  community ; 
and  finally  there  is  the  legislation  which  is  designed  to  ex- 
pedite or  facilitate  the  financing  of  planning  projects.  Such 
authorizations  are  still  novel  in  American  municipal  pro- 
cedure. It  only  remains  to  add,  in  introduction,  that  laws 
and  ordinances  which  the  courts  are  known  to  have  declared 
unconstitutional  have  heen  omitted  from  the  following  sum- 
mary. 

EsTAFiLISHMENT   OF    ClTY-Pr.AN  NINC,    COMMISSIONS 

Since  American  cities  and  towns  enjoy  so  little  "home 
rule,"  legislation  of  the  first  type,  to  provide  for  offi- 
cial planning  commissions,  has  heen  mainly  by  states  and 
provinces.  Four  characteristics  may  be  noted  in  regard  to 
it: 

1.  With  a  marked  unanimity  the  laws  ask  planning  com- 
missioners to  serve,  as  park  commissioners  so  commonly 
do,  without  remuneration.  Tiie  theory  of  such  requirement 
has  been  aptly  expressed  in  these  words :  "The  kind  of 
control  which  shall  be  really  statesmanlike  and  of  the  high- 
est value  must  be  either  paid  for  at  a  very  high  figure,  or 
be  obtained  for  nothing;  and  prol)ably  the  latter  method  is 
the  best." 

2.  There  is  very  frequently  a  re{|uiremcnt  that  the  exist- 
ing administrative  bureaus  of  a  city  shall  have  ex  officio 
representation  on  the  planning  commission.  Sometimes  this 
applies  also  to  the  legislative  agencies.  Such  provision  tends 
to  prevent  an  obstruction  due  to  jealousy,  takes  care  of 
overlapping,  and  makes  available  what  is  sometimes  really 
expert  knowledge. 

3.  There  is  some  tendency  to  give  to  ])lanning  comnn's- 
sions,  as  originally  to  art  commissions,  ])owcrs  that  are  only 
advisory. 

4.  W'lien  larger  |)owcrs  are  given,  commissioners  usually 


4o6  CITY  PLANNING 

are  granted  authority,  by  implication  if  not  explicitly,  to  re- 
tain experts. 

In  the  following  citations  of  acts  for  the  creation  of  plan- 
ning commissions,  the  states  and  provinces  are  named  in 
alphabetical  order  for  convenience  of  reference. 

The  Province  of  Alberta,  Canada,  adopted  a  town-plan- 
ning act  in  19 1 3  (Chapter  18,  Acts  of  1913).  This  pro- 
vides for  an  appointed  commission  of  five  to  ten  members, 
and  otherwise  follows  in  a  general  way  the  principles  of  the 
well-known  English  enactment. 

California,  on  December  10,  1912,  amended  the  charter 
of  San  Francisco  to  provide  for  establishing  a  city-planning 
commission — which  an  ordinance  of  April  6,  1914,  created. 
The  commission  consists  of  nine  members,  of  whom  three 
are  the  city  engineer,  the  city  architect,  and  the  city  attorney 
— ex  officio.  The  other  six  are  appointed  by  the  mayor,  and 
all  serve  without  pay.  Alameda,  Berkeley  and  Oakland  also 
have  now  secured  commissions.^ 

The  Dominion  of  Canada  as  a  whole  added,  in  1914,  a 
town-planning  branch  to  its  Commission  of  Conservation. 

Connecticut  claims  the  honor  of  having  established  in 
1907  (Joint  House  Resolution  201)  the  first  plan  commis- 
sion, officially  so  designated,  in  the  United  States.  This 
was  for  Hartford,  the  capital  city.  It  includes,  as  ex  officio 
members,  the  mayor,  the  president  of  the  board  of  street 
commissioners,  the  president  of  the  park  board,  and  the 
city  engineer.  It  also  includes  two  citizens  who  do  not  hold 
other  municipal  ofiice,  and  one  member  each  from  the  board 
of  aldermen  and  the  common  council.  The  members  are 
not  paid.  In  1913  Connecticut  supplemented  this  legislation 
by  three  special  acts,  applying  respectively  to  New  Haven 
(House  Act  243),  to  New  London  (Special  Act  351),  and 

'  In  1915  California  passed  an  act  (Senate  bill  No.  610)  authoriz- 
ing the  creation  of  a  city-planning  commission  in  any  city  or  town 
of  the  state. 


CITY-PLANNING   LEGISLATION  407 

to  West  Hartford  (Special  Act  291).  For  New  Haven,  a 
city-planning  commission  was  created  with  power  to  make 
a  comprehensive  plan  for  the  city,  and  for  that  purpose  to 
employ  experts,  as  Hartford  had  done.  In  New  London, 
this  authority  was  given  to  the  park  board,  presumably  be- 
cause that  board,  having  retained  a  well-known  city  planner 
to  map  out  a  park  system,  was  convinced  by  him  of  the 
desirability  of  treating  the  park  plan  as  only  one  aspect  of 
a  city  plan.  West  Hartford  was  given  permission  to  create 
a  plan  commission  if  the  people  voted  in  favor  of  it. 

Maryland,  in  1910,  enacted  a  law  (Chapter  114)  provid- 
ing for  a  city-planning  commission  in  Baltimore,  to  consist 
of  the  mayor  and  of  eight  persons  appointed  by  him,  to  have 
a  paid  secretary  but  themselves  to  serve  uncompensated. 
The  commission  was  required  "to  investigate  all  plans  pro- 
posed for  the  construction  or  extension  of  public  highways 
in  the  city  of  Baltimore,  and  the  establishment  of  a  civic 
center  or  other  public  improvements  in  connection  there- 
with." But  Maryland  can  contest  with  Connecticut  the 
honor  of  having  initiated  the  earliest  general  city-planning 
legislation  in  the  United  States,  for  in  the  sudden  emergency 
created  by  the  Baltimore  fire  of  1904,  the  legislature  en- 
acted a  law  (approved  ]\Tarch  11,  1904)  creating  for  Balti- 
more a  Burnt  District  Commission,  charged  with  the  task 
of  replanning  the  burned-over  section.  This  commission 
was  given  power  (Sec.  2)  to  open,  extend,  widen,  straighten 
or  close  streets  and  alleys,  to  establish  squares,  to  determine 
building  lines  and  sidewalk  widths,  to  extend  or  partially  fill 
the  harbor,  etc.  In  other  words,  as  a  tem])orary  expedient 
and  over  a  limited  area,  there  was  early  created  a  commis- 
sion with   real  town-planning  powers. 

Massachusetts,  in  19 13,  took  nuich  more  swecjiing  action 
than  had  Connecticut  or  Maryland.  It  passed  legislation 
(Chapter  494,  Laws  of  1913)  rcquin'iif/  all  its  cities  and 
towns  that  had  more  than  10,000  population  to  create  local 


4o8  CITY  PLANNING 

planning  boards,  which,  after  studying  the  resources,  possi- 
bilities and  needs  of  the  respective  cities,  should  make  plans 
that  would  look  especially  to  "the  proper  housing"  of  the 
people.  This  legislation  is  of  interest  because,  for  the  first 
time  in  such  an  act  in  this  country,  what  may  be  called  the 
human  emphasis  was  expressly  enjoined  in  the  words  of 
the  act.  In  cities  it  is  required,  under  the  Massachusetts 
enactment,  that  the  commission  shall  be  appointed  by  the 
mayor,  subject  to  confirmation  by  the  council ;  in  towns 
its  members  are  elected  by  the  voters  at  the  annual  town 
meeting.  The  planning  board  is  ordered  to  submit  an 
annual  report,  and  the  cities  and  towns  are  authorized  to 
make  suitable  ordinances,  by-laws,  and  appropriations  for 
the  carrying  out  of  the  act.  In  November,  1914,  thirty-six 
such  commissions  were  in  existence  in  Alassachusetts,  which 
in  this  respect  led  all  the  states.  This  progress  was  largely 
due  to  the  fact  that  the  act  had  made  the  Massachusetts 
Homestead  Commission  responsible  for  reminding  the  cities 
and  towns  of  their  duty  and  for  assisting  them  to  perform 
it.  It  should  be  added  that,  prior  to  the  enactment  of  this 
Massachusetts  law,  two  cities — Salem  and  Fitchburg — had 
already  created  planning  commissions.  Salem's  had  been 
in  existence  about  a  year,  while  Fitchburg  had  secured  its 
"Municipal  Development  Commission"  by  a  special  act 
(Chapter  327,  Laws  of  1913)  which  barely  preceded  the 
general  law.  A  subsequent  act  (Chapter  283)  of  1914,  gives 
permission  to  towns  with  a  population  of  less  than  10,000  to 
establish  planning  boards. 

The  Province  of  New  Brunswick,  in  1912,  passed  a  town- 
planning  act  which,  approximating  English  procedure,  reads 
in  part  (Sec.  i,  paragraph  3)  :  "Any  local  authority  may 
make  application  to  the  government  for  authority  to  put  into 
efifect  a  town-planning  scheme." 

New  Jersey,  in  191 1  (Chapter  y\,  Laws  of  191 1),  gave  to 
any  city  oi  the  fir?!  class  authority  to  appoint  a  city  plan 


CITY-PLANNING   LEGISLATION  409 

commission,  "consisting  of  not  more  than  nine  citizens  of 
such  city  to  prepare  a  plan  for  the  systematic  and  future 
(levelo])ment  of  the  city."  The  commission  is  further  au- 
thorized to  employ  experts,  if  it  so  desires;  hut  it  must  not 
exceed  an  expenditure  in  any  one  year  of  «$io,ooo,  for  all 
purposes ;  and  the  commissioners  themselves  must  serve 
without  pay.  Appropriation  is  to  he  from  the  funds  of  the 
city.  Later,  New  Jersey  raised  the  limit  of  annual  expen- 
diture to  $25,000,  and  extended  to  cities  of  the  second  class 
the  authority  to  appoint  plan  commissions.^ 

New  York,  under  Chapter  699,  Laws  of  191 3,  has  author- 
ized the  trustees  of  villages,  the  common  councils  of  cities 
other  than  New  York  City,  and  the  hoard  of  estimate  and 
apportionment  in  New  York  City,  to  create  planning  com- 
missions.    These  also  may  employ  experts. 

Nova  Scotia  enacted  a  town-planning  law  at  the  same 
time  as  New  Brunswick,  and  one  of  similar  character.^ 

^  On  April  6,  1915,  the  Governor  signed  a  bill  (Assembly,  No.  591) 
applying  to  all  "third  class  cities,  fourth  class  cities,  boroughs, 
towns,  townships,  and  incorporated  villages"  of  the  state,  authoriz- 
ing the  appointment  of  a  "Municipal  Plan  and  Art  Commission" 
to  consist  of  six  members,  appointed  by  the  mayor  or  other  execu- 
tive, "with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  council  or  other  similar 
governing  body  as  the  case  may  be;"  and  serving  without  pay.  To 
tliis  commission  are  to  be  referred  "all  questions  concerning  the 
location  or  acceptance  of  any  public  place,  playground,  parkway, 
street,  avenue,  highway,  common,  l)Oulevard,  square,  park,  or  of 
the  design,  acceptance  or  location  of  any  bridge,  viaduct,  street  or 
park  fixtures  or  structures,  or  any  puljlic  l)uilding  ...  or  works 
of  art,  proposed  to  be  erected  cither  wholly  or  partly  by  public 
or  private  funds,  for  the  l)enefit  of  the  pu1)lic  in  such  municipality." 

^  This  law  was  superseded  in  1915  by  one  which  is  much  more 
advanced.  The  latter  makes  it  comjiulsory  for  every  city  and  town 
of  the  province  to  aj^point  a  planning  board  wliich,  witliin  three 
years  from  tlic  passage  of  tlie  act.  nnist  pre])are  a  set  of  town 
planning  l)y-la\vs.  miless  it  chooses  to  a(Io])t  a  set  of  "model  l)y- 
laws,"  ])re]Kircd  liy  tlie  commissioner  of  public  works  of  tlie  ])ro\inc('. 


410  CITY  PLANNING 

The  State  of  Ohio,  amending  its  constitution  in  1912,  gave 
to  its  cities  authority  to  manage  their  own  affairs  to  such 
extent  that  it  hecame  possible  for  them  to  include  in  their 
charters  provision  for  a  plan  commission  as  one  of  the 
administrative  agencies.  Cleveland  and  Dayton  have  availed 
themselves  of  the  opportunity,  Cleveland  by  a  mandatory 
clause  and  Dayton  by  a  permissive  one.  The  Cleveland 
charter  provision  (Sec.  'jy'),  adopted  in  1913,  reads:  "There 
shall  be  a  city-plan  commission  to  be  appointed  by  the  mayor, 
with  power  to  control,  in  the  manner  provided  by  ordinance, 
the  design  and  location  of  public  buildings,  harbors,  bridges, 
viaducts,  street  fixtures  and  other  structures  and  appurte- 
nances ;  the  removal,  relocation  and  alteration  of  any  such 
works  belonging  to  the  city ;  the  location,  extension  and 
platting  of  streets,  parks  and  other  public  places,  and  of 
new  areas;  and  the  preparation  of  plans  for  the  future 
physical  development  and  improvement  of  the  city."  This 
Cleveland  commission  consists  of  seven  members,  appointed 
for  five  years,  who  serve  without  pay  other  than  their 
expenses.  The  commission  exercises  the  functions  of  a 
municipal  art  commission  as  well  as  those  of  a  city-plan- 
ning commission. 

The  Province  of  Ontario  adopted,  in  1912,  a  "City  and 
Suburbs  Plans  Act."  This  places  upon  the  Ontario  Railway 
and  Municipal  Board  the  responsibility  of  passing  upon 
the  plans  of  those  cities  of  the  province  having  a  population 
of  50,000  or  more. 

Pennsylvania,  on  June  10,  191 1,  passed  an  act  (Penn. 
Laws,  p.  872)  creating  a  department  of  city  planning  for  sec- 
ond'class  cities  (Pittsburgh  and  Scranton).  It  consists  of 
nine  persons,  xvho  may  or  mav  not  be  residents  of  the 
city,  who  are  to  be  appointed  by  the  mayor,  and  who  are  to 
serve  without  pay.  This  legislation  was  supplemented,  in 
191 3,  by  an  act  (No.  406)  requiring  each  city  of  the  third 
class — of  which  Pennsylvania  then  had  twenty-three — also 


CITY-PLANNING  LEGISLATION  411 

to  create  departments  of  city  planning,  to  consist  of  five 
members  to  be  appointed  by  tbe  mayor  and  council  and 
to  serve  without  pay.  It  was  provided,  however,  that  in 
certain  instances  the  powers  of  such  a  department  might 
be  delegated  to  the  park  board.  The  following  provi- 
sions in  the  above  Pennsylvania  act  to  establish  munici- 
pal departments  of  city  planning  are  interesting:  The 
members  of  the  commission  are  to  receive  copies  of  all  city 
ordinances  and  amendments,  in  so  far  as  these  relate  to  the 
extension  or  alteration  of  highways,  or  to  work  upon  them, 
or  to  the  location  of  public  buildings,  bridges,  tunnels,  sub- 
ways or  railroads.  The  commission  may  then  communicate 
in  writing  to  the  council  its  disapproval  of  such  ordinances 
or  amendments.  Yet  disapproval  does  not  operate  as  a  veto. 
The  commission's  definite  approval,  however,  is  required 
for  plans  for  all  mains  to  be  laid  in  the  city;  and  deeds  of 
park  and  playground  property  cannot  be  recorded  for  the 
city  without  indorsement  thereon  by  the  commission. 

In  addition  to  these  general  laws,  several  important  cities 
have  established  plan  commissions  by  ordinance.  These 
cities  include:  Chicago,  in  1909;  Detroit,  in  1910;  St. 
Louis  and  Lincoln,  Neb.,  in  191 1;  liridgeport.  Conn.,  and 
Providence,  R.  I.,  in  1913;  St.  Paul,  in  1914.  But  even 
apart  from  the  local  ordinances,  it  is  impossible  to  run  over 
the  long  list  of  recent  general  enactments  without  perception 
of  their  significance.  The  laws  of  four  provinces  and  of 
eight  populous  states  have  opened  the  way  for  a  wiser 
])lanning  of  very  many  cities.  Nor,  in  the  absence  of  an  or- 
ganized campaign  or  of  party  or  "boss"  backing,  could  such 
laws  have  been  enacted  had  there  not  been  a  body  of  public 
opinion  to  sup])ort  them,  a  well-defined  wish  to  take  ad- 
vantage of  the  jiermission  which  they  give,  and  a  widespread 
ac([uiescciicc,  at  least,  in  the  reasonableness  of  their  ])vo- 
posals.  'J'his  means  that  within  a  few  nKjnths,  coni])ara- 
tively,  without  fiourish  or  disj)lay,  city  j:)lanning  has  been 


412  CITY  PLANNING 

coming  triumphantly  into  its  own  as  respects  general  legisla- 
tion for  setting  up  of  machinery  to  promote  it. 


Powers  of  City-Planning  Commissions 

In  regard  to  enactments  designed  to  add  to  the  efficiency 
of  the  city-planning  operation,  a  field  was  entered  in  which 
opposition  was  more  likely  to  assert  itself.  Existing  rights 
and  privileges,  stirred  up  by  proposals  of  curtailment, 
would  not  be  slow  to  take  alarm  and  to  fight.  Yet 
even  here  the  conquest  has  proceeded  with  a  seeming 
ease  that  can  be  explained  only  by  the  public  perception  of 
a  community  advantage  coupled  w' ith  a  reasonable  considera- 
tion for  the  individual. 

From  the  city  planner's  point  of  view,  it  is  clearly  of  im- 
mense importance  that  the  arbitrarily  established  and  in- 
visible line  of  the  city  boundaries  shall  not  limit  his  activi- 
ties and  cut  off  his  schemes.  Often  a  city  is  built  up,  in 
parts  at  least,  not  merely  to,  but  well  beyond,  that  shifting 
line,  which,  though  here  today,  may  be  a  mile  farther  out 
tomorrow.  If  the  city  plan  has  any  value,  it  is  in  its  an- 
ticipation of  and  preparation  for  the  city's  future  growth ; 
and  to  hold  it  within  that  line  would  be  something  worse 
than  to  cut  the  coat  of  a  growing  boy  from  a  measure  al- 
ready snug  and  cramping.  Yet  beyond  that  line,  the  prop- 
erty owner,  paying  no  city  taxes  and  receiving  no  city 
service,  has  heretofore  snapped  his  fingers  at  municipal 
enactments.  But  it  is  the  approach  of  the  city  which 
raises  the  value  of  his  land,  and  it  is  the  belief  that  the  city 
will  ultimately  engulf  him  which  makes  his  land  so  salable. 
So  the  lawmakers  have  listened  to  the  plea  of  the  city  plan- 
ners, and  various  states  and  ])rovinces  in  their  sovereign 
capacity  have  bestowed  u])on  cities  control  l)eyond  city 
boundaries.     This   is  accomplislied  iti   tiie   following  ways, 


CITY-PLANNING  LEGISLATION  413 

the  development  of  the  idea  that  has  come  with  the  lapse  of 
time  being,  if  we  except  a  comparatively  early  law  of 
Missouri,  especially  interesting.  That  Missouri  law  (Re- 
vised Statutes,  1909,  Sec.  8541)  allows  cities  of  the  first 
class  to  acquire  land  beyond  their  limits  for  certain  desig- 
nated purposes — as  parks,  water  works,  etc.,  ''or  for  any 
other  purpose."  It  docs  not  appear  ever  to  have  been 
made  use  of  for  the  control  of  subdivision  platting,  and  we 
may  doubt  whether  that  purpose  was  included  among  the 
objects  of  the  bill. 

Wisconsin,  then,  in  1909  adopted  a  law  extending  the 
authority  of  city  councils  over  the  platting  of  lands  lying 
beyond  the  city  limits,  but  within  one  and  one-half  miles 
of  them.  Michigan  adopted  a  law  which  gave  to  its  cities 
control  for  two  miles  beyond  their  limits.  Ohio,  in  1910, 
extended  jurisdiction  for  three  miles  beyond  the  city  limits, 
and  it  may  be  interesting  to  quote,  as  follows,  from  that 
act  (House  Bill  No.  147,  amending  Section  4346  of  the 
General  Code  relating  to  Platting  Commissioner)  : 

The  Director  of  Public  .Service  shall  also  be  the  platting 
commissioner  of  the  city.  .  .  .  When  any  person  plats  any 
lands  within  three  miles  of  the  corporate  limits  of  a  city,  the 
platting  commissioner  shall,  if  they  arc  in  accordance  with  the 
rules  as  prescribed  by  him,  endorse  his  written  approval 
thereon,  and  no  plat  of  such  land  shall  be  entitled  to  record  in 
the  recorder's  office  in  the  county  in  which  such  city  is  located 
without  such  written  approval  so  endorsed  thereon;  provided, 
that  the  approval  of  the  platting-  connnissioner  of  a  city  shall 
not  1)e  re([uired  unless  such  city  is  the  nearest  to  the  lands 
sought  to  be  allotted. 

rennsyKania,  following,  in  191 T,  with  its  ''Act  Creating  a 
I  )c])artniciU  of  I'ity  I  Manning  for  Cities  of  the  .Second 
Class,"  included  in  the  act  the  prc)\ision  that  the  department 
"nia}'  nia]<c,  or  cause  to  be  made  ...  a  map,  or  ma[)s,  of 


414  CITY  PLANNING 

the  city,  or  any  portion  or  portions  thereof,  including  ter- 
ritory extending  three  miles  beyond  the  city  Hmits,  showing 
the  streets  and  highways  and  other  natural  or  artificial 
features,  and  also  locations  proposed  by  it  for  any  new 
public  buildings,  civic  center,  street,  parkway,  boulevard, 
park,  playground,  or  any  other  public  ground  or  public 
improvement ;  or  any  widening,  extension,  or  relocation  of 
the  same."  The  Pennsylvania  act  of  1913,  which  has  been 
also  referred  to  above,  in  which  the  cities  of  the  third  class 
were  required  to  establish  a  department  of  city  planning, 
gave  to  them,  too,  the  right  to  map  lands  lying  within  a 
five-mile  radius,  and  provided  that  no  streets  within  three 
miles  might  be  accepted  or  recorded  unless  approved  by  the 
commission.  Three  miles  is  the  limit  now  recognized  also 
in  the  charter  of  Minneapolis  (Chapter  VIII,  Section  22)  : 

The  City  Council  shall  have  power  to  designate  by  ordinance 
or  resolution  such  portions  of  the  territory  lying-  adjacent  to  or 
outside  of  the  boundary  lines  of  the  city  as  it  may  deem  proper 
as  a  City  District,  and  may  from  time  to  time  extend  the  lim- 
its of  such  district  to  include  any  territory  not  lying  at  a 
greater  distance  than  three  miles  at  any  point  in  direct  line 
from  the  boundary  line  of  said  city,  and  within  said  district 
the  City  Council  shall  have  control  of  the  laying  out  of  streets 
and  alleys,  and  the  acceptance  of  plats  of  additions  and  the 
dedication  of  property  for  streets  and  public  grounds  therein, 
and  may  require  that  all  streets  and  alleys  laid  out  or  dedicated 
within  such  district  shall  conform  to  and  be  continuous  with 
the  system  of  streets  and  alleys  within  said  city,  and  to  that 
end  may  indicate  by  survey  and  plat  such  streets,  alleys,  and 
the  arrangement  and  dimensions  thereof,  as  in  its  discretion 
will  be  best  calculated  to  meet  the  wants  and  conveniences 
of  said  city  and  its  surroundings  or  any  future  extension 
thereof. 

Meanwhile,  there  had  begun  to  grow  up  a  realization 
that  even  a  three-mile  extension  estaldished  an  arbitrary 


CITY-PLANNING  LEGISLATION  415 

line,  while  the  rapidly  increasing  use  of  automobiles  and 
interurban  trolleys  was  bringing  into  market  for  home  de- 
velopment property  that  lay  even  further  beyond  city  boun- 
daries. The  town-planning  acts  of  the  provinces  of  Ontario 
and  Saskatchewan,  of  New  Urunswick  and  Nova  Scotia,  and 
of  the  states  of  New  York  and  California — all  dating  later 
than  191 1 — recognize  this  need  of  a  more  elastic  and  indefi- 
nite jurisdiction.  The  City  and  Suburbs  Plans  Act  of  1912, 
by  the  Province  of  Ontario,  which  related  to  cities  of  not 
less  than  50,000  population,  required  that  plans  for  subdivid- 
ing land  "within  five  miles  of"  such  cities  should  be  sub- 
mitted to  the  Ontario  Railway  and  Municipal  Board,  to 
which  it  gave  the  power  to  demand  changes.  The  enactment 
of  Saskatchewan,  entitled  a  "Regulation  Respecting  the  Sub- 
division of  Land,"  dated  1913,  declares  (Section  11)  that 
"when  any  plan  of  subdivision  is  /;/  proxiinitv  to  any  cor- 
porate city  or  town,  the  director  of  surveys  may  require 
the  owner  to  secure  the  approval  of  the  council  of  such  city 
or  town,  or  of  some  one  deputed  1)y  them,  to  give  such 
approval."  The  similar  town-planning  acts  of  New  Piruns- 
wick  and  Nova  Scotia  (1912)  ])ermit  the  government  to 
"authorize  a  local  authority  to  prei)are  and  put  into  effect 
a  town-planning  scheme  with  reference  to  any  land  within, 
or  in  the  neighborhood  of,  the  area  over  which  it  has 
municipal  control."  The  Alberta  act,  specifically  stating 
that  land  "in  the  neighborhood"  shall  l)c  such  as  "is  in 
course  of  development  or  as  appears  likely  to  be  used  for 
building  ])urposes,"  defines  tlie  latter  clause  as  including 
"any  land  likely  to  be  used  as,  or  for  the  purpose  of  ])rovid- 
ing  open  spaces,  roads,  streets,  ])arks,  jileasure  or  recreation 
grounds,  or  for  the  purpose  of  executing  any  work  upon  or 
under  the  land,  incidental  to  a  town  planning  scheme, 
whetlier  in  the  nature  of  a  ])uil(ling  work  or  not."  It  adds: 
"The  decision  of  the  Minister  as  to  wliether  land  is  likely 
to  be  used  for  l)uil(ling  purposes  sliall  be  final." 


4i6  CITY  PLANNING 

And  the  New  York  State  law  of  19 13,  which  authorizes 
villages  and  cities  to  create  planning  commissions,  provides 
that  they  may  map  not  only  areas  within  the  villages  or 
cities,  but  "any  land  outside  the  limits  of  said  eity  or  village, 
so  near,  or  so  related  thereto,  that  in  the  opinion  of  said 
planning  commission  it  should  be  so  mapped."  ^  This  repre- 
sents a  considerable  advance  over  even  the  legislation  of 
1909  by  progressive  Wisconsin,  with  its  placing  of  the  limit 
a  mile  and  a  half  beyond  city  boundaries.  But  the  principle 
was  recognized  as  much  as  forty  years  ago  in  the  Swedish 
Building  Act  of  1874. 

Districting 

The  urgent  need  by  city  planners  of  permission  to  set 
up  different  restrictions  in  different  parts  of  the  same  city 
is  also  gaining  recognition.  The  general  term  for  the 
method  employed  is  "districting."  The  Constitution's  guar- 
antee of  equality  limits,  of  course,  the  city's  police  power  to 
the  extent  that  all  legislative  discriminations  or  classifica- 
tions must  be  justified  by  differences  of  status,  act,  or  occu- 
pation corresponding  to  the  difference  of  legislative  meas- 
ures. This  makes  it  necessary  to  determine  what  is  a  rea- 
sonable classification,  and  while  it  hampers  considerably 
the  freedom  of  districting  which  might  be  indulged  in  if 
there  were  not  a  constitution,  it  adds  much  to  the  interest 
and  significance  of  the  legislation  enacted. 

Passing  over  the  widely  accepted  principle  of  two  or 
more  building  districts,  in  one  of  which  there  is  the  require- 
ment of  fireproof  construction — a  form  of  districting  of 
which  the  constitutionality  has  been  uniformly  upheld — we 

^California's  IQ15  act  requires  cily-planninj?  commissions,  if  the 
city  council  so  directs,  to  prepare  adequate  maps  not  only  of  the 
city,  or  of  any  jiart  thereof,  I)ut  of  "adjacent  territory  lying  outside 
the   corporate   houndaries." 


CITY- PLANNING   LEGISLATION  417 

may  note  that  Boston  has  divided  itself  into  several  dis- 
tricts as  respects  the  height  of  buildings.  A  limit  of  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  feet  is  placed  in  one,  and  of  eighty 
feet  in  another,  with  certain  enumerated  exceptions ;  while 
in  yet  other  areas  the  height  limit  is  made  dependent  on  the 
width  of  street  and  building.  The  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States  has  upheld  this  action  (IVclch  v.  Szvosey,  214 
LT.  S.  91,  29  Sup.  Ct.  567,  1909).  Maryland  has  placed  a 
special  limit  upon  the  height  of  the  buildings  within  a 
l)lock  of  the  Washington  Monument,  in  Baltimore;  Indian- 
apolis by  ordinance  has  taken  similar  action  in  regard  to 
structures  on  its  Monument  Place ;  and  in  the  city  of  Wash- 
ington the  districting  idea  has  been  applied  with  great  rigor 
for  several  years,  as  far  as  the  heights  of  buildings  are  con- 
cerned. The  last-named  city  is  divided  by  streets  into 
business  and  residential  districts,  a  height  of  one  hundred 
and  thirty  feet  being  the  maximum  allowed,  under  special 
conditions,  in  the  former  (except  on  a  few  blocks  of  Penn- 
sylvania Avenue),  and  a  height  of  eighty-five  feet  being 
the  maximum  in  residence  districts.  St.  Louis,  by  an 
amendment  to  its  charter  in  1901,  gave  to  the  St.  Louis  mu- 
nicipal assembly  the  right  "to  prohibit,''  by  ordinance,  "the 
erection  or  establishment  or  maintenance  of  any  business 
houses,  or  the  carrying  on  of  any  business  vocation"  on 
jjroperty  fronting  on  a  Ijoulevard  whicli  might  thereafter 
be  o])cned. 

Los  Angeles,  in  1909,  established  residence  and  indus- 
trial districts  by  an  ordinance.  L^rom  the  residence  dis- 
tricts certain  kinds  of  business  were  excluded,  even  though 
they  were  already  established  tlicrc,  and  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  state  has  approxed  the  action.  In  i()i2  the  legisla- 
ture of  ^^laryland  passed  an  act  (Cliapter  fx)T,)  requiring 
that  dwellings  in  a  given  section  of  ludtimore  be  detached, 
with  no  two  closer  tlian  a  designated  number  of  feet.  In 
1912,   also.    Massachusetts   amended    its   general   municipal 


4i8  CITY  PLANNING 

act  (Chapter  334,  Laws  of  1912)  so  as  to  permit  all  cities 
and  towns  except  Boston  to  regulate  the  height,  area,  loca- 
tion, and  use  of  buildings  within  the  whole  or  any  defined 
part  of  their  corporation  limits.  And  the  Province  of  On- 
tario extended  the  provision  of  its  municipal  act  to  permit 
cities  having  a  population  of  100,000  or  more  to  control  the 
location  of  apartment  and  tenement  houses  and  of  public 
garages. 

In  1913  there  was  a  wave  of  districting  legislation.  New 
York  State  (Chapter  774)  authorized  the  common  council 
in  cities  of  the  second  class,  on  petition  of  two-thirds  of  the 
owners  afifected,  to  establish  residence  districts  in  which 
only  single  or  two-family  dwellings  might  be  constructed. 
Six  cities  are  in  this  class,  and  Utica  and  Syracuse  have 
already  acted.  Minnesota  passed  an  act  (Chapter  420, 
Laws  of  191 3)  empowering  Duluth,  Minneapolis,  and  St. 
Paul  to  establish  residential  and  industrial  districts,  on  peti- 
tion of  fifty  per  cent,  of  the  property  owners  in  the  affected 
section.  Any  kind  of  business,  and  even  tenements,  apart- 
ment houses  and  hotels  may  be  excluded  from  such  a  resi- 
dence district.  The  act  has  been  already  utilized  by  Minne- 
apolis. Wisconsin  (Chapter  743,  Laws  of  1913)  authorized 
its  eight  cities  of  25,000  or  more  population  to  set  aside 
"exclusive"  residential  districts.  Seattle  included  the  possi- 
bility of  restricted  districts  in  the  building  code  adopted 
by  it  in  July,  1913. 

In  1914  the  legislature  of  New  York  (Chapter  470) 
amended  the  charter  of  New  York  City  in  order  to  permit 
the  board  of  estimate  and  apportionment  to  "divide  the 
city  into  districts  of  such  number,  shape,  and  area  as  it  may 
deem  best  suited"  for  a  regulation  of  "the  height  and  bulk 
of  buildings  and  the  area  of  yards,  courts  and  other  open 
spaces,"  and  it  gave  to  the  board  permission  to  make  these 
regulations  different  in  different  districts.  The  board  was 
given  authority,  also,  to  "regulate  and  restrict  the  location 


CTTY-PLANNIXG   LEGISLATION  419 

of  trades  and  industries  and  the  location  of  buildings  de- 
signed for  specific  purposes,"  and  to  "divide  the  city  into 
districts  of  such  number,  shape,  and  area  as  it  may  deem 
best  suited  to  carry  out"  such  purpose.  This,  the  latest, 
seems  to  be  the  most  definite  districting  legislation.  It  adds 
much  to  the  power  of  the  city  planner  to  give  eflfectiveness 
to  his  work. 

Financial  Measures 

Coming  to  legislation  designed  to  facilitate  the  financing 
of  city-planning  operations,  the  privilege  of  which  most 
persons  will  think  first  is  that  of  excess  condemnation — i.  e., 
the  giving  to  a  city  of  the  right  to  condemn  more  land  than 
that  which  it  will  actually  and  directly  use  in  a  given  im- 
provement. Until  recently  the  right  has  been  rarely  granted 
in  the  United  States ;  but  it  is  common  in  Europe  and  South 
America,  whence  come  familiar  tales  of  great  public  im- 
provements carried  out  by  means  of  it  at  a  minimum  of  net 
expenditure,  and  occasionally  even  at  ultimate  profit.  This 
result  has  been  accomplished  by  the  exercise  of  "excess  con- 
demnation" for  the  acquirement  of  lands  bordering  on  an 
improvement,  and  then  by  the  resale  of  those  lands  at  the 
enhanced  value  which  the  improvement  bestows.  Even 
where  there  is  no  question  of  recoupment  or  profit,  the 
ownership  of  adjoining  lands  may  mean  much  to  a  city  in 
the  control  which  it  gives  of  their  development,  and  in  the 
acquisition  at  a  minimum  cost  of  possibly  admirable  sites 
for  public  buildings. 

Though  these  arguments  have  proved  convincing  to  for- 
eign lawmakers  and  courts,  there  has  been  doubt  in  this 
country  as  to  a  speculative  reduction  of  cost  constituting 
a  "public  use"  with  such  clearness  as  to  carry  tiic  right  of 
eminent  domain.  Much  more  evident  was  the  injustice  that 
occasionally   might    result    from    lack   of   such    a   privilege 


420  CITY  PLANNING 

through  the  leaving  of  unusable  remnants ;  the  waste  of 
public  money  that  must  result  in  settling  damages  for  rem- 
nants— a  waste  that  might  be  avoided,  had  the  town  the 
right  to  take  the  whole  of  a  property  instead  of  only  the 
portion  it  would  use ;  and  the  tendency  of  small  left-over 
pieces  to  deteriorate  in  appearance  to  an  extent  that  affects 
the  whole  improvement.  So  we  find  general  powers  of  ex- 
cess condemnation  granted  much  more  slowly  in  the  United 
States  than  is  a  limited  power  that  is  applicable  only  to 
remnants. 

Probably  the  earliest  recognition  of  the  principle,  as  ap- 
plied to  remnants,  dates  in  the  United  States  to  two  acts 
of  1867.  One  of  these  created  the  Fairmount  Park  Com- 
mission of  Philadelphia.  The  other  (Chapter  159,  Mass. 
Acts  of  1867)  provided  for  the  widening  of  Oliver  Street  in 
the  city  of  Boston.  For  nearly  forty  years,  strangely 
enough,  this  recognition  seems  not  to  have  appeared  again 
in  American  legislation,  so  far  as  the  writer  can  learn. 
Then,  in  1904,  it  was  recognized  in  statutes  of  Ohio  (Sec. 
10,  of  Ohio  Municipal  Code,  as  amended),  of  Massachu- 
setts (Chapter  443,  Laws  of  1904),  and  in  the  Maryland 
act  which  gave  such  advanced  town-planning  powers  to  the 
temporary  Burnt  District  Commission  o'f  Baltimore,  immedi- 
ately after  the  fire.  The  latter  act,  for  instance,  stated  that 
when,  in  the  carrying  out  of  the  commission's  purpose  there 
proved  to  be  need  of  taking  only  a  portion  of  a  lot,  and  the 
owner  or  owners  thereof  claimed  compensation  for  the 
whole,  the  commission  might  (Sec.  9),  "if  they  deem  it 
best,"  accept  "a  surrender  in  writing  of  the  whole  lot,  or 
the  whole  of  said  lot  and  improvements  .  .  . ;  in  which  event 
the  commission  shall  ascertain  the  full  value  thereof  .  .  . 
and  the  whole  amount  of  such  valuation,  when  finally  de- 
cided on,  shall  be  paid  or  tendered  the  said  owner  or  own- 
ers ..  .  ;  and  the  said  commission,  after  giving  ten  days' 
notice  in  two  of  the  daily  newspapers  of  the  city  of  the 


CITY-PLANNING   LEGISLATION  421 

time  and  place,  manner  and  terms  of  sale,  shall  sell  by  public 
auction  to  the  highest  bidder  the  .  .  .  residue  of  any  lot 
of  which  a  part  shall  be  taken  and  used  to  effect  the  object 
confided  to  the  commission." 

One  year  after  this,  "An  Act  to  repeal  and  re-enact  with 
amendments  the  paragraph  entitled,  'Condemnation  of  Prop- 
erty,' of  Section  6,  Article  4,  of  the  Code  of  Public  Local 
Laws  of  ]\Iaryland,  title,  City  of  lialtimore,  sub-title.  Char- 
ter" gave  to  that  city  the  right  to  acquire  excess  land  "for 
the  purpose  of  reselling  such  land,  zvith  reservations  in  the 
deeds  of  such  resale  as  to  the  future  use  of  such  lands,  so 
as  to  protect,"  etc.  Again,  in  1908  (Chapter  166),  the 
])rivilege  was  further  extended,  and  it  was  permitted  to  in- 
clude land  for  any  public  or  municipal  purpose,  while  in 
1910  the  mayor  and  council  of  Baltimore  were  authorized 
(Chapter  no)  to  delegate  to  the  commission  on  city  plan 
the  powers  connected  with  excess  condemnation. 

The  Massachusetts  authority  was  specifically  limited  to 
the  acquisition  of  remnants  which,  from  their  size  and  shape, 
would  be  unavailable  for  the  erection  of  suitable  and  appro- 
priate buildings.  The  Ohio  act  gave  the  right  to  resell  with 
restrictions  designed  to  "protect  public  buildings  and  their 
environs,  and  to  preserve  the  view,  appearance,  light,  air, 
and  usefulness  of  public  grounds  occupied  by  i)ublic  build- 
ings and  esplanades  and  parkways  leading  tiiercto." 

Virginia  followed,  in  1906.  with  an  act  (Chapter  194) 
permitting  the  acc|uisition  of  property  adjoining  streets  as 
well  as  ])arks,  "when  the  use  of  the  land  proposed  to  be 
taken  would  impair  the  beauty,  usefulness  or  efficiency"  of 
the  public  property;  and  in  1907  the  Connecticut  legislature, 
in  creating  the  Ilartford  Commission  on  City  Plan,  gave 
to  it  the  right  of  excess  condemnation,  with  privilege  to  re- 
sell "with  or  without  reservations"  property  not  needed  for 
an  improvement — a  privilege  wliich  the  Connecticut  legis- 
lature extended  to  other  jjlaces  in  1913. 


422  CITY  PLANNING 

In  191 1  the  people  of  Massachusetts  adopted  an  amend- 
ment to  the  state  constitution,  of  which  the  purpose  is  to 
permit  cities  and  towns  to  exercise  the  right  of  excess  con- 
demnation over  more  than  remnants.  The  amendment  re- 
quired, however,  that  the  excess  lands  thus  taken  should  he 
"no  more  in  extent  than  would  he  sufficient  for  suitable 
building  lots  on  both  sides  of  such  highway  or  street."  In 
1 91 2,  Wisconsin  and  Ohio  also  incorporated  the  permission 
in  constitutional  amendments,  and  in  1913  the  people  of  the 
state  of  New  York  amended  their  constitution  for  this  pur- 
pose. The  wording  of  the  New  York  amendment  closely 
follows  that  of  Massachusetts,  limiting  the  excess  takings 
to  an  amount  "sufficient  to  form  suitable  building  sites" ; 
but  in  reality  this  restriction  amounts  to  little,  as  very  sel- 
dom would  there  be  desire  to  acquire  more. 

There  has  been  considerable  other  legislation  designed 
to  facilitate  the  execution  of  city-planning  projects  by  add- 
ing to  the  funds  available.  One  method  raises  the  limit 
of  municipal  indebtedness  by  exempting  certain  classes  of 
bonds ;  another  simplifies  the  technical  details  of  condemna- 
tion procedure  and  broadens  the  use  of  the  special  assess- 
ment principle — notably  in  New  York  and  Massachusetts. 
Thus  a  New  York  act  (Chapter  679,  Laws  of  191 1)  au- 
thorizes the  Board  of  Estimate  and  Apportionment  in  New 
York  City,  in  the  case  of  an  improvement  costing  more 
than  $15,000,  to  divide  the  expense  between  the  city  at 
large,  if  it  so  desires,  the  borough,  and  the  special  assess- 
ment district — instead  of  putting  all  the  cost  upon  the  latter 
— in  instances  where  the  improvement  is  of  general  benefit. 
The  Massachusetts  acts,  which  make  special  provisions  for 
the  assessment  of  betterments  in  Boston,  are  Chapter  393, 
Laws  of  1906,  and  Chapter  536,  Laws  of  1913. 

There  has  been  also  a  great  deal  of  legislation,  mainly  in 
city  ordinances,  which  is  designed  to  give  control  of  street 
})latting,  by  requiring  the  submission  of  plats  to  some  official, 


dTY-PLAx\x\ING   LEGISLATION  423 

board,  or  body  ;  to  facilitate  the  widening  of  streets,  tlirougli 
the  acquirement  of  easements  or  by  the  establishment  of 
building  lines,  etc. ;  and  finally  to  lessen  the  expense  of 
extending  streets,  as  by  the  publication  of  an  ultimate  in- 
tention. In  Pennsylvania,  for  instance,  a  city  may  declare 
its  purpose  to  extend  a  street  at  some  future  time,  and  for 
no  structure  erected  after  the  notice,  within  the  lines  of  the 
street  extended,  is  it  required  to  pay  damages. 

But  to  go  with  detail  into  all  these  matters  would  too 
greatly  extend  a  chapter  that  is  already  long.  Enough  has 
been  said  to  indicate  the  rapidity  of  the  recent  advance  in 
city-planning  legislation  in  this  country  and  in  Canada,  and 
to  show  its  interesting  growth  in  scope  and  power  in  each 
of  the  four  directions  in  which  it  mainly  expresses  itself. 


Bihli(k;kaimiy 

Bassett,  E.  M.  a  Survey  of  the  Legal  Status  of  a  Specific 
City  in  Relation  to  City  Planning.  Proceedings  of  Fifth 
National  Conference  on  City  Planning,   1913,  pp.  46-62. 

Bentley,  I*'.  G.,  and  Taylor,  S.  P.  Housing,  Town  Planning, 
etc.,  Act,  1909;  a  Practical  (juidc  in  the  Preparation  of 
Town  Planning  Schemes,  with  Appendices  Containing  the 
Text  of  the  Act  .  .  .  Also,  Specimen  Eorms  of  Notices 
and  a  Model  Set  of  Colored  Plans.  .  .  .  With  a  foreword 
by  Raymond  Unwiii.     London,   191 1.     159  pp. 

P)I.\ki:kd,  R.  .S.  h'.xcess  Condenmalion.  National  Municipal 
Re7ie':^',   ii,   Jannary,    1913,   pp.  23-25. 

BosTWiCK,  A.  I,.  I'-xcess  C'oiidenniation  :  Laws  of  Massachu- 
setts, Ohio,  C'onnecticiit,  Xcw  \'ork,  Maryland  and  Mis- 
souri; illustration  of  practice;  discussion.  M  unicipal 
Joiirudl,  xxxv,  October  _',   1913,  pp.  464-465. 

Case  and  Coninienl.  The  Modern  City  Xuml)er,  xviii,  no.  7, 
December,  191 1. 

Caitaxko,  .Makk).     Italian  Legislation   Respecting  the   Planning 


424  CITY  PLANNING 

of  Building  Areas.  Transactions  of  Royal  Institute  of 
British  Architects.  Town  Planning  Conference,  1910,  pp. 
716-729. 

Crawford.  A.  V\'.  Certain  Principles  of  a  Uniform  City  Plan- 
ning Code.  Proceedings  of  Third  Xational  Conference 
on  City  Planning,  191 1,  pp.  231-240. 

.     Excess  Condemnation  and  Public  Use.     Proceedings  of 

Second  Xational  Conference  on  City  Planning  and  the 
Problems  of  Congestion,  1910,  pp.   155-163. 

Davidson".  J.  \V.  The  new  Alberta,  Canada,  Town  Planning 
Act.  Proceedings  of  Fifth  Xational  Conference  on  City 
Planning,    1913.   pp.  68-72. 

DowDALL,  H.  C.  The  Growth  of  Legal  Control  Over  Town 
Development,  with  Observations  on  the  Expense  Incurred 
by  Local  Authorities  in  Carrying  Out  a  Scheme  Under  the 
Town  Planning  Act.  Transactions  of  Royal  Institute  of 
British  Architects.  Town  Planning  Conference.  1910,  pp. 
663-669. 

Drafts  of  Suggested  Acts.  Proceedings  of  the  Fifth  Xational 
Conference  on  City  Planning.  1913.  pp.  248-259. 

E[)GAR.  R.  A.  Legal  Aspects  of  Municipal  .Esthetics.  Case 
and  Comment,  xviii.  December.  191 1.  pp.  S57'3^S- 

Fisher,  Walter  L.  Legal  Aspects  of  the  Plan  of  Chicago. 
By  Daniel  H.  Burnham  and  Edward  H.  Bennett.  Chicago, 
1909.     pp.  127-156. 

Gle.v.  R.  a.,  and  Dea.v.  A.  D.  The  Law  and  Practice  of  Town 
Planning.  Being  Part  II  of  the  Housing.  Town  Planning, 
etc..  Act.  1909  19  Edward  \TI.  ch.  441.  With  introduc- 
tion, notes  to  the  act.  departmental  orders  and  model 
clauses  for  town  schemes.     London.   1913.     xxxii,  28^  pp. 

Great  Britain.  Laws.  Statutes,  etc.  The  Housing.  Town  Plan- 
ning, etc..  Act  of  1909  19  Edward  \II,  ch.  441.  with  In- 
corporated Provisions  of  the  Housing  Acts,  and  All  Orders 
Issued  by  the  Local  (jovernment  Board.  Together  with  Full 
Explanatory  Xotes  and  Index.  Edited  by  W.  .\.  Casson. 
3d  edition,   London.    1912.     326  pp. 

HoRSFALL.  T.  C.     The  Improvement  of  the  Dwellings  and  Sur- 


CITY-PLAXXIXG   LEGISLATIOX  42; 

foundings  of  the  People :  The  Example  of  Germany.  Man- 
chester, University  Press.  1904.     193  pp. 

Lewis,  John.  A  Treatise  on  the  Law  of  Eminent  Domain  in 
the   United   States.     3d  edition.   Chicago,   1909.     2  vols. 

Ma(.f:e,  W.  a.  The  Organization  and  I'unctions  of  a  City  Plan- 
ning Commission.  Proceedings  of  fifth  Xational  Confer- 
ence on  City  Planning.  1913,  pp.  73-85. 

Massachusetts.  Legislative  Committee  on  Eminent  Domain. 
Report.  December  29,  1903.  Boston,  1904.  loi  pp. 
(Printed  as  House  doc.  no.  288.) 

Contents:  Report;  Draft  of  proposed  act;  The  method 
of  procedure  in  case  of  taking  land  for  street  widening 
and  other  improvements  in  London,  compiled  by  L.  C. 
Wead ;  The  method  of  procedure  in  case  of  taking  land 
for  street  widening  and  other  improvements  in  Glasgow, 
compiled  by  L.  C.  Wead ;  Report  on  the  French  system 
for  taking  land  by  right  of  eminent  domain,  by  E.  ^L  Par- 
ker; Municipal  real  estate  operations  in  connection  with 
street  improvements,  in  Paris.  London,  and  the  provincial 
towns  of  England,  by  H.  R.  Meyer. 

MuNRO,  W.  B.  Principles  and  Methods  of  Municipal  Admin- 
istration.    Xew  York.  1915. 

XiCHOLs,  Philip.  The  Power  of  Eminent  Domain;  a  Treatise 
on  the  Constitutional  Principles  which  Attect  the  Taking 
of  Property   for   Public  L"se.     Boston.    1909.     560  pp. 

Parker,  E.  ^L  Supplemental  Report  on  French  and  Other 
Continental  Systems  of  Taking  Land  for  PuIjHc  Purposes. 
Boston,  1904.  16  pp.  ( Massachusetts.  House  doc.  no. 
1 096. ) 

RoBixsox.  C.  ^L  City  Planning  with  Special  Reference  to  the 
Planning  of  Streets  and  Lots.  Xew  York.  1916.  350  pp. 
Part  I\'  C'jntains  five  chapters  on  city-planning  legislation. 

Shiri.kv.  J.  W'..  FciKD.  F.  L.,  and  Siil'rti.eff,  Flavel.  .Some 
Problems  of  Legal  and  Administrative  Procedure  Affect- 
ing the  L'ity  I'lan.  Pr,'ccediir^s  of  Sreoiid  Xaiiojui!  Co)i- 
ft'rcuic  oil  Ci'y  Planniinj  aiui  the  Problenis  of  Co)igcstiou. 
])]).  21.   1910.    153-182. 

.^iirRTi.i  IF.    1m  A\Kr.    and    ni.M..-TEii.    F.    L.     (''arrving   Out    the 


426  CITY  PLANNING 

City  Plan ;  The  Practical  Application  of  American  Law 
in  the  Execution  of  City  Plans.  Russell  Sage  Foundation 
publication.     New  York,  1914.    349  pp. 

Town  Planning  Procedure  Regulations  (luigland  and  Wales), 
1910  ("for  the  purposes  of  Part  II.  of  the  Housing,  Town 
Planning,  etc.,  Act,  1909").    London,  1910.    23  pp. 

Veillek,  Lawrence.  An  Extension  of  the  Police  Power.  Sur- 
vey, xxii,  July  3,  1909,  pp.  514-516. 

Wead,  L.  C.  Excess  Condemnation  of  Land  as  Affecting 
Highway  and  Tunnel  Questions.  Report,  Massachusetts 
Joint  Board  of  Metropolitan  Improvements,  191 1,  pp.  42-46. 
(House  doc.  no.   1550.) 

Written,  Robert  H.  Constitution  and  Powers  of  a  City  Plan- 
ning Authority.  Proceedings  of  Seventh  National  Con- 
ference on  City  Planning,  1915,  pp.  135-143,  275-299. 

Williams,  Frank  B.  Some  Aspects  of  City  Planning  Admin- 
istration in  Europe.  Proceedings  of  Sci'cnth  National 
Conference  on  City  Planning,  1915,  pp.  144-154. 

Williams,  W.  F.,  and  others.  Legislation  Necessary  for  In- 
telligent City  Planning.  Short  articles  and  discussion.  Pro- 
ceedings of  Fourth  National  Conference  on  City  Planning, 
1912,  pp.  138-151. 

United  States.  Library  of  Congress.  Diyision  of  Bibliogra- 
phy. Select  List  of  References  on  Excess  Condemnation 
and  Municipal  Ownership  of  Land.  Washington,  1910. 
4  pp.   (typewritten). 

.  Select  List  of  References  on  Eminent  Domain  and  Con- 
demnation Procedure.  Washington,  1912.  6  pp.  (typewrit- 
ten). 


GENERAL  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Other  I)ibliograi)hics  on   city  planning  of   special   value   are 
the    following: 

American  City.  List  of  American  City  Planning  Reports. 
American  City,  xi,  December,  1914.  pp.  490-497.  Also  re- 
printed as  American  City  Pamphlet  no.  124. 

American  City  Bureau.  Selected  List  of  Municipal  and  Civic 
Books.    2d  ed.,  New  York,  1914.    66  pp. 

Berlin.  Allgemeine  Stadtebau-Ausstellung,  191  o.  Literatur- 
Verzeichnis,  hrsg.  vom  Sckretariat  der  Ausstellung.  Ber- 
lin, Ullstein  &  Co..   1910.     52  pp. 

Boston.  Public  Library.  Catalogue  of  Books  Relating  to  Ar- 
chitecture, Construction  and  Decoration  in  the  Public  Li- 
brary of  the  City  of  Boston.  2d  ed.,  with  an  additional 
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Check  List  of  References  on  City  Planning,  Compiled  by  the 
Division  of  Bibliography,  Liljrary  of  Congress,  and  the 
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47^  PI'- 

4^7 


428  CITY  PLANNING 

New  York.  Public  Library.  Select  List  of  Works  Relating  to 
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d'entretien  des  Bois  de  Boulogne  et  de  Vincennes,  Champs- 
elysees,  pares,  squares,  boulevards,  places  plantees,  etude 
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American  Academy  of  Political  and  Social  Science.  Housing 
and  Town  Planning.  Annals,  li,  whole  no.  140,  January, 
1914.     Philadelphia,   1914.     270  pp. 

American  Association  of  Park  Superintendents.  Proceedings 
of  Annual  Conventions.     Harrisburg,  1899  ft". 

American  Park  and  Outdoor  Art  Association.  Addresses  and 
Proceedings,  Vols,   i-vii,  1897-1903. 

American    .Society   of    Municipal    Tmprovcmcnts.     Proceedings 


GENERAL  BTRI.TOGRAPTTV  429 

of  the  Sixteenth  Annual   Convention,   Little   Rock,   Ark., 

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Baker,  M.   N.     Municipal   ]*3ngineerinj?  and   Sanitation.     New 

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Grundstiicke     und     die     Zonenenteigung.       Berlin,     1897. 

152  pp. 

Berlir*  Allgemeine  Stadtebau-Ausstellung,  1910.  Literatur- 
verzeichniss.     Berlin,  1910.     52  pp. 

Birmingham,  England.  General  Purposes  Committee.  Report 
to  the  General  Purposes  Committee  of  the  Deputation  Vis- 
iting Germany  and  Austria  in  May  and  June,  1910,  for  the 
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Boston.     Metropolitan   Plan   Commission.     Report,  January   I, 

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Burn  HAM,  D.  H.,  and  Bexnktt,  E.  H.  Report  on  a  Plan  for 
San  Francisco,  presented  to  the  Mayor  and  Board  of  Su- 
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Canberra,  Australia,  Federal  Capital  City.  Report  of  Board 
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430  CITY  PLANNING 

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Dawson,  W.  H.  Municipal  Life  and  Government  in  Germany. 
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Emerson,  C.  E.,  Jr.,  and  Ezra  B.  Whitman.  Sanitary  Roa- 
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Fischer,  Tiieodor.  City  Building.  A  translation  made  for 
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Forrath,  Emerich.  Stadtebauliche  Studien;  Schriften  zur 
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Ford,  G.  B.  Digging  Deeper  into  City  Planning.  American 
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Geddes,  Patrick.    Cities  in  Evolution.    London.  191 5.    409  pp. 

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ungsanlagen  von  mittleren  und  klcineren  Stadten.  Stutt- 
gart,  1 9 14.     94  pp. 

Wilcox,  D.  F.    The  American  City.     New  York,  1904.    423  pp. 

Wuttke,  RoiiERT.  Die  deutschen  stadte.  2d  vol.  (Abbildun- 
gen).     Leipzig,   1904.     455  pp. 

ZuEBLiN,  Charles.  A  Decade  of  Civic  Development.  Chi- 
cago,  1905.     188  pp. 

.     American    Municipal    Progress:    Chapters   in    Municipal 

Sociology.  New  York,  1903,  389  pp.    (New  edition  in  press.) 


INDEX 


Access  to  water  front,  238-240 
Accessibility   of   pul)lic    build- 
ings, 107,  126,  149 
Adickes,  Dr.  Franz,  81 
Anchorage  grounds,  234 
Antwerp,    City    Hall    in,    no; 

water  front  in,  218 
Architectural  contrasts  in  city 

planning,  105 
Architectural  effect  of  public 
buildings,  107,  108,  no,  in, 
113,  118 
Assessment,  for  local  improve- 
ments, loi,  394-396;  for 
park  lands,  169,  171,  172, 
394 

Baltimore  Burnt  District  Com- 
mission, 407 

]>aumeister,  Reinhard,  8[ 

lieaches,  recreative  value  of, 
206 

ISeauty  in  city  planning,  17, 
18,  60,  6r,  107,  108,  III,  300 

Bond  issues  for  municipal  im- 
])rovements,   169,  398-400 

Boston  Public  Library,  no 

I'oston,  reclamation  of  sea 
lands  ill,  211-214,  220;  rec- 
reation centers  in,  149; 
water    supi)ly    in,    182,    189; 


water  works  in,  191,  192,  193 
Boulevards,  164,  165 
Brackett,  Dexter,  182 
Breakwaters,  234 
Buda    Pesth,    public   buildings 

in,  103 
Building  codes,  object  of,  13, 

14,  70 
Building      construction,      uni- 
formity in,  71 
Building  line  ordinance,  54,  6^, 

loi,   102 
Building  regulation,  13,  14,  23, 
24,  70-75,  417-419;  statistics 
of,  380 
Bulkhead  moorings,  229 
P>ush  Terminal  Company,  267 
Business     district,     effect     of 
rapid   transit  on,  319;  loca- 
tion in  cities  of,  21,  300,  365 

California,    city    planning    in, 

406,  415 
Canada,  city  planning  in,  406, 

408,  409,  410,  415 
Central  I'ark,  Xew  York  City, 

151.  I/O 

Chestnut  Hill  reservoir,  Bos- 
ton, 192,  193 

Chicago,  recreation  centers  in, 
129,     145-147;     South     Side 


4.V 


438 


INDEX 


Park  system  in,  135-137; 
street  plan  in,  295 

Chicago  City  Club  competi- 
tion, 40 

Children,  in  tenement  districts, 
336;   playgrounds   for,    122- 

125 

Circulation  systems,  interrela- 
tion of,  9,  295 

City  districts,  76-83,  416-419 

City  financing,  reading  list  on, 
401-403 

City  growth,  allowance  for  fu- 
ture in,  387,  388,  412,  413; 
allowance  in  railroad  plans 
for,  267-271,  276,  277,  328- 
330;  allowance  in  street  plan 
for,  5-9,  100,  292-298,  309, 
310;  influence  of  transporta- 
tion on,  5,  7,  8,  310,  329, 
330;  land  values  during,  84, 
loi,  117,  118,  127,  168,  170, 

172,  390.  391,  394,  419 

City  history  maps,  357 

City  living  conditions,  333-336; 
improvement  of,  124,  139- 
142,  149,  162,  339-342;  sta- 
tistics of,  359,  360 

City  parks,   160,  161 

City  planning,  building  regu- 
lations in,  13,  14,  23,  24,  70- 
75,  417-419;  collection  of 
data  for,  355-339 ;  commer- 
cialism in,  5.  269-271  :  data 
on.  reading-list  on,  385,  386: 
different  ideals  in,  15,  16; 
financial  advantage  of,  388- 


391,  400,  401;  financial 
measures  for,  58-62,  loi, 
169-175,  298,  394-401,  419- 
423;  industrial  districts  in, 
19,  20,  yy,  261,  266-271,  275, 
276,  337-340;  land  acquisi- 
tion for,  48,  55,  58-62,  65, 
66,  117,  118,  163,  397,  398, 
419-423;  land  subdivision  in, 
39-42,  44,  45  ;  legislation  for, 
55-58,  404;  legislation  for, 
reading  list  on,  423-426; 
local  streets  in,  89-102;  Na- 
tional Conference  on,  25-34, 
44,  394,  395 ;  park  system  in, 
166-168,  176;  practical  diffi- 
culties of,  3,  387;  public 
buildings  in,  103-105,  364; 
rapid  transit  in,  320,  328- 
330;  recreation  needs  in, 
117-121,  139-141,  147,  149, 
150,  153-158,  176;  residential 
districts  in,  83,  337-340,  344, 
418;  scope  of,  2,  277,  278; 
vmity  in,,  83;  use  of  maps  in, 
367 ;  zone  system  in,  77-79, 
81,  296,  344 
City    planning    commissions, 

405;  powers  of,  412-416 
City  railroad  map,  374-377 
City    records,    importance    of, 

355"359 
City   settlement,   effect   of.   on 

Nature's  balance,  202,  203 
Cit}'  squares,  164.  167 
City    topography,     importance 

of  recording,  355-357 


INDEX 


439 


City  transportation,  5,  7,  8, 
279-282,  2yi,  292,  328-330 

City  water  supply,  181 -183 

City  water  fronts,  improve- 
ment of,  206,  211-214,  216- 
225 

Comey,   Arthur    C,    147,    148, 

153,  155 

Commons,  164 

Condemnation  of  private  prop- 
erty, 49,  50,  61-64 

Congestion,  problems  of,  "jy 
y6,  285,  286,  291,  300,  328, 

Z2,yz?>^>  387 

Connecticut,  city  planning  in, 
406 

Consolidation  of  railroads, 
271-275 

Cooperative  suburban  develop- 
ment, 348,  349 

Cost,  of  municipal  improve- 
ment, 381  ;  of  park  main- 
tenance, 156;  of  rapid  tran- 
sit construction,  322-324, 
326-328;  of  recreation,  135, 
141,  156;  of  suburban  homes, 
344,  345 ;  of  sul)ways,  286- 
288;  of  thoroughfare  con- 
struction. 298,  304.  389;  of 
water      front     construction, 

o  -  -     o  -  8 

Cottage  housing,  336,  337. 
Croton     W'alcr     Works,     New 

York,    1 89 
(  innis,  1  Icnry  S.,   133 

I  )anis,  construction  of,  189,  190 


Detroit,   playgrounds   in,    122- 

124;  pul)lic  buildings  in,  11 1, 

112 
Diseases  of  city  life,  335,  357, 

358 
District  regulations,  y6,  80,  82, 

83,   417-419;   object   of,   72,, 

78 
District     variations,     in     city 

planning,  79,  80 
Docks,  251 

Efificiency,  in  city  planning,  15, 
16,  17,  41  r,  412;  in  water- 
front operations,  252-256; 
relation  of  recreation  to, 
139,   140 

IClcctric  power  from  city  water 
works,  190 

IClevated  railroads,  288,  327, 
328 

Eminent  domain,  52,  53,  61, 
68,  69 

England,  property  rights  in, 
51 ;  zone  system  in,  81 

Erie,  flood  damage  in,  210 

Esthetic  value  of  city  improve- 
ment, 17,  18,  60,  61,  107,  108, 
III,  300,  364 

European  street  classification, 

304 

European  suburljan  develop- 
ment, 347,  348 

l-lxcess    condemnation.     58-62, 

i^>9.  i/S-  397.  398.  4i9-4-'3 
l''xpress  train  service  in  cities, 
325,  326 


440 


INDEX 


Factories,  location  of,  365 

Factory  latul,  339 

Fences  in  iicighl)orhood  cen- 
ters, 131,  132 

Field  games  in  recreation  cen- 
ters, 133 

Fire  prevention,  13,  y2,  182, 
184,  1 87 

Flood  damage,  in  cities,  208- 
211 

Forest  Hills,  street  system  in, 

49 

Forestry,  in  parks,  152;  pub- 
lic interest  in,  196 

Franchises,  control  of,  (i(),  67, 
380 

Frank  fort-on-the-Main,  zone 
system  in,  yj,  78 

Franklin  Park,  Boston,   151 

Freight  delivery,  system  of, 
265,  266 

Freight  traffic,  statistics  of, 
375-377 

Garbage  disposal  statistics,  361 
Garden  city  planning,  341,342 
Gary  system,   135-138 
Gatun  Dam,  Panama,  1S9 
Germany,  building  regulations 

in,  70,  76,  yj,  81  :  property 

rights  in,  51,  54,  55 
Germs    in    city    water    supply, 

188,  189 
<  "lifts  for  city  parks,   168,   169 
( ilasgow,  water  supply  in,  189 
Grade    crossings,     elimination 

of,  319,  320 


Ilampstead     Gardens,     street 

system  in,  49 
Hartford,  forestry  in,  196 
Health,  protection  of,  13 
Health  statistics  in  city  plan- 
ning, 358 
Height  of  buildings,  regulation 

of,  417 
Hinterland    on    water     front, 

Housing,  conditions  of,  in  New 
York,  J2  (note),  83,  149; 
improvement  in,  23-25,  43, 
44,  65,  66,  y2,  75,  124,  339- 
342,  417-419;  influence  of 
land  subdivision  on,  40-42; 
influence  of  street  planning 
on,  8,  9;  standard  of,  38,  53; 
statistics  on,  359,  360 

Howard,  Fbenezer,  garden  city 
scheme  of,  341,  342 

Hydrants,  187 

Industrial  decentralization, 337, 

339,  340 
Industrial  districts,  19,  20,  /j, 

261,  266-271,  275,  276,  337 
Industrial  population,  338,  339 
Industrial    property,    mapping 

of,  365 

Industrial  villages,  establish- 
ment of,  340-342 

Insjiection,  of  buildings,  13;  of 
water  supply,  182 

Kansas  City,   park  system   in. 


INDEX 


441 


Land,  acquisition  of,  48,  55, 
58-62,  65,  66,  117,  118,  163, 
397,  398.  419-423;  classifica- 
tion of,  19-22,  40;  private 
ownership  of,  36;  reclama- 
tion of,  nndcr  water,  211- 
214,  216;  reservation  of,  for 
parks,  159,  168-171 

Land  subdivision,  effect  on 
city  plan  of,  39-42,  44,  45; 
object  of,  35;  reading  list 
on,  45-47;  regulation  of,  36, 
37.  3^^-  39-42,  44,  76 

Land  value  zones,  365,  366 

Land  values,  effect  of  tax  rate 
on,  61,  62;  rise  of,  during 
city  growth,  84,  loi,  117, 
118,  127,  168,  170,  172,  390, 
391,  394,  419 

Landscape  effects  on  city  water 
works,  190,  191,  192,  197 

Legal  adjustments  in  street 
planning,  63-65 

Legal  progress  in  city  plan- 
ning, 411,  412 

Legal  rights  of  public  utilities, 
67-69 

Lewis,  Nelson  P..  394 

Libraries  in  city  plan,  364 

Lighting  system  for  play- 
grounds, 134,  135 

Liverpool,  public  buildings  in, 
no 

Li\-ing  conditions,  in  city,  im- 
provement of.  124,  139-142, 
149.  162:  in  rural  communi- 
ties, 142-144 


Local  history  in  city  planning, 

357 
London,  rapid  transit  in,  320 

Main  thoroughfares,  classifi- 
cation of,  303,  304;  grading 
for,  309;  gradual  improve- 
ment of,  306;  location  of 
public  property  on,  300;  pipe 
systems  under,  308;  plans 
for,  292-295,  299;  railways 
and,  reading  list  on,  310- 
313;  traffic  on,  300,  302; 
width  of,  302-306;  sec  also 
Street 

Marshes,  effect  on  city  health 
of,  205 

^Maryland,  city  planning  in, 
407 

Massachusetts,  city  planning 
in,  407,  408 

Michigan,     city    planning    in, 

413 
Minneapolis,    public    buildings 

in,  112 
IMissouri,  city  planning  in,  413 
Moscow,    public    l)uildings    in, 

103 
!Municii)al    buildings,    location 

of.   106 
^Municipal  forestry,  196 
^Municipal    im])rovement.  basis 

for,    360-364;    cost    of,   381; 

different    ideals    in.    15.    16; 

effect  on  land  values  of,  84, 

loi,  118,   127.   159,   170,   172, 

394,  419;  exercise  of  i)olice 


442 


INDEX 


power  in,  53,  54,  65,  66,  70, 
82;  financial  measures  for, 
58-62,  loi,  169-175,  298,  394- 
401,  419-423;  land  acquisi- 
tion for,  48,  55,  58-62,  65,  66, 
117,  118,  163,  397,  398,  419- 
423 ;  social  responsibility  for 
future,  I,  3,  4,  177;  statistics 
of,  380 
Municipal    indebtedness,   limit 

of,  391-393 

Municipal  ownership  of  water- 
front land,  261 

Municipal  regulation,  of  build- 
ings, 13,  14,  23,  24,  70-75, 
417-419;  of  transportation, 
67-69,  264-266,  284;  statis- 
tics of,  379-381 

Municipal  street  planning,  5-9, 
100,  292-298,  309,  310 

Municipal   water   supply,   181, 

195 

Naples,  Piazza  del  Plebiscito 
in,  no 

National  Conference  on  City 
Planning,  25-35,  44,  394,  395 

Navigable  waters,  classifica- 
tion of,  227,  228;  reading 
list  on,  262,  263 ;  tidal  varia- 
tion in,  231 

Neighborhood  centers,  acces- 
sibility of,  126,  127,  149; 
classification  of,  121,  122; 
facilities  of,  128-135;  land 
acquisition  for,  117,  118;  lo- 
cation of,   125-128;   reading 


list  on,  138;  social  value  of, 

118-121 
New  Haven,  forestry  in,  196 
New  Jersey,  city  planning  in, 

408,  409 

New  Orleans,  water-front  rail- 
roads in,  242 
New   York,   city   planning  in, 

409,  415,  416;  housing  in,  y2, 
83,  149;  rapid  transit  in,  320, 
325,  2^6;  water  supply  in, 
189 

Non-navigable  waters,  reading 

list  on,  225,  226 
Nuisances,  suppression  of,  54, 

55»  ^77,  381 

Ohio,    city    planning    in,    410, 

413 
Olmsted  Brothers'  report,  169 
Open  cut  railways,  327 
Ottawa,    public    buildings    in, 

103 

Palais  de  Justice,  Brussels,  104 

Paris,  public  buildings  in,  104 

Park  concessions,  157 

Park  lands,  payment  for,  169; 
value  of.  168 

Park  location  for  neighbor- 
hood centers,  128 

Park  statistics,  362 

Park  systems,  reading  list  on, 
178-180 

Park  treatment  of  city  water 
works,  190-193 

Parks,    classification    of.    164- 


INDEX 


443 


i66;  location  of,  163;  rec- 
reational value  of,  151,  162, 
245,  246;  reservation  of  land 
for,  159,  168-171;  non-navi- 
gable waters  in,  215;  on 
water  front,  206,  213,  245, 
246 

Parker,  George  A.,  135,  140, 
141,  144,  150,  156 

Parkways,  150,  164,  165 

Pennsylvania,  city  planning  in, 
410,411,413 

Philadelphia,    street    plan    in, 

305 

Piazza  del  Plebiscito,  Naples, 
no 

Pier  and  slip  moorings,  229 

Pipe  laying  methods,  185,  186, 
308    ' 

Pipe  materials  for  city  water 
supply,  185 

Place  de  la  Concorde,  Paris, 
104 

Planting  in  neighborhood  cen- 
ters, 130,  131 

Playgrounds,  development  of, 
164;  equipment  and  main- 
tenance of,  129,  130,  132- 
134;  location  of,  122-125, 
129,  362;  statistics  on,  362 

Pluml)ing,  supervision  of,  184, 

Police  power,  53,  54,  65,  66,  82 
Population  maps  in  city  ])lan- 

ning,  358 
Portland,  water-front  construc- 
tion in,  251 


Private  property,  condemna- 
tion of,  49,  50,  63,  64;  in 
land,  35,  36;  influence  of 
city  improvement  on,  22,  49, 
84,  127,  159,  168,  171,  213; 
public  control  over,  12-14; 
regulation  of,  50,  53,  70, 
177;  rights  in,  50,  51,  54,  55, 
62,  64 

Profit  in  land  subdivision,   35 

Property  values,  effect  of 
rapid  transit  on,  319,  328 

Public  buildings,  architectural 
effect  of,  107,  108,  113,  114, 
118,  300;  grouping  of,  118, 
119;  importance  of,  104, 
364;  in  capital  cities,  103, 
104;  location  of,  10-12,  105- 
108,  125-128,  130,  300;  read- 
ing list  on,  115,  116;  sites 
of,     108-112;    statistics    of, 

364 
Public  control,  methods  of, 
379-381 ;  over  land  subdivi- 
sion, 44;  over  private  prop- 
erty, 12-14;  over  transporta- 
tion, 66-69,  264,  265,  266, 
284;  reading  list  on,  85,  86, 

87 

Public  gardens,  164 

Public  institutions,  classifica- 
tion of,  10-12 

Public   utilities,  regulation  of. 

66-69,    -^4'     -65 ;    -^'^''    ^'-^'' 
Transportation 
Public  works,  interrelation  of, 
176,  177 


444 


INDEX 


Quincy,  water  works  at,  i88 

Radial  street  systems,  7,  295, 

329 
Railroad    belt    lines,    240-242, 

266,  275 
Railroad  branch  lines,  265 
Railroad     consolidation,     271- 

275 
Railroad  improvements,  264 
Railroad  land  on  water  front, 

243-245 
Railroad  plans,  allowance  for 
city  growth  in,  267-271,  276, 
^77,  328-330 
Railroad   routes,   development 

of  direct,  7 
Railroad  statistics,  2>7A-?)77 
■Railroad  terminals,  271,  374 
Railroads,     electrification     of, 
320;    reading    list    on,    2"/'/, 
278;    suburban   business   of, 
314,  315-  316,  320,  375 
Rapid  transit,  demand  for,  283, 
285-287,   291,   322;   develop- 
ment of,  315,  316,  319,  324, 
328-330;      express      service, 
325,  326;  operation  of,  317, 

325.  326 
Rapid  transit  construction, 320- 

324,  326-328 
Real   estate,   valuation   of,    12, 

171 
Real-estate  operations,  control 

of,   :i,'/,   44,   ^y\    in   sul)url)S, 

344-34S 
Real-estate  restrictions,  37,  85 


Real-estate  values,  influence  of 
city  improvements  on,  22,  58, 
59,  62,  117,  118,  159,  168, 
172,  213 

Recreation,  for  rural  popula- 
tions, 141-144;  in  Boston, 
149;  in  Chicago,  145-147;  in 
city  life,  119-121,  139-142, 
147,  149,  150,  206;  space  for, 
154;  statistics  on,  362;  use 
of  water  works  for,  191, 
192 

Recreation  centers,  sec  Neigh- 
borhood centers 

Recreation  piers,  223,  224 

Report,  of  City  Planning  Con- 
ference, 28-34;  of  Olmsted 
Brothers,  169-171 

Residential  decentralization, 
reading  list  on,  350 

Reservoir  forestry  work,  195- 
199 

Reservoirs,  for  water  storage, 
183,  184,  187-195;  preven- 
tion  of  organic  growth   in, 

193-195 
Residential       decentralization, 

337-340 
Residential  districts,  21,  22,  40- 

43.  77-  85.  344,  4i8 
Revere  Beach,  Boston,  207 
Rights  of  way  for  street  rail- 
ways, 290 
Riverside     Park,     Xew     York 

City,  246 
Rural  recreation  problem,  141- 
144 


INDEX 


445 


St.  George's  Hall,  Liverpool, 
no 

Sanitary  regulations,  j}, 
Sanitation  statistics,  361 
School  gardens,  129 
Sea  land,  reclamation  of,  211- 

215 
Seattle,      forestry     plans     of, 

196 
Service  pipe  systems,  184,  185, 

186 
Sewage  disposal  statistics,  361 
Sewage  elimination,  208 
Shipping,  classification  of,  248 
Shore  reclamation,  216 
Shore  roads  in  cities,  206 
Site,    selection    of,    for    public 

buildings,   104,   108-112 
Slum  housing,  65,  335,  336 
Social  centers,  in  city  life,  117, 

118 
Social   conscience,   growth  of, 

I,  4,  177.  Z17 

Space  requirements,  in  city 
life,  162;  in  recreation  cen- 
ters,   130,    132-135.    149,    154 

Spot  Pond  reservoir,  Boston, 
191,   192 

Statistics,  importance  of,  in 
city  ]ilaiming,  358-360 

Storm  -  water  drainage,  177, 
20C) 

Street  access  to  water  front. 
238-240 

Street   cleaning  statistics,  361 

Street  construction,  statistics 
of,  }^-7('> 


Street  excavation  for  pipe  re- 
pairs,  185,   186,  187,  308 

Street  frontage  for  public 
property,  no,  in,  127 

vStreet  pavements,  100,  loi 

Street  plan,  acquisition  of  ex- 
tra land  for,  58-60,  63,  64; 
allowance  for  city  growth 
in,  5-9,  100,  292-298,  309, 
310;  basis  for  improvement 
in,  368;  conversion  of,  97, 
98;  on  private  property,  57, 
85;  permanence  of,  5,  293; 
relation  to  transportation  of, 
5-9,  288,  290-292,  329 ;  water 
supply    system    in,    186,    187 

-Street  planning,  legal  problems 
in,  63-65 

Street  classification  and  stand- 
ardization, 304-306 

Street  playgrounds,   131,   132 

Street  railway  service  in  cities, 
283,  284,  290,  315 

Streets,  alignment  of,  92-96; 
construction  of,  89,  90; 
grading  of,  96,  97;  location 
of,  40,  99,  100;  statistics  of 
traffic  on.  367;  width  of,  90, 
91  ;  sec  also  Main  thorough- 
fares 

Siil)ur])an  development,  effect 
of  rapid  transit  on.  319.  344 

Sul)url)an  life,  expenses  of, 
344.  345:  promotion  of.  337, 

34Z 
Suburban   real-estate  develop- 
ment, 344-348 


446 


INDEX 


Suburban  transportation,  314, 

315-  316,  375 
Subway  express  service,  325 
Subways,    286-288,    292,    326, 

327 
Switzerland,   zone    system   in, 

81 

Tall  buildings,  effect  of,  113, 
114 

Tax  rate,  effect  on  land  values 
of,  61,  62 ;  relation  of,  to 
municipal  indebtedness,  392, 

393 

Taxation,  and  assessment,  in- 
fluence on  investment  of,  12; 
for  park  lands,  169 

Tenement  construction,  regu- 
lation of,  337 

Tenement  housing  conditions, 

335.  336 
Thames  embankments,  London, 

216,  217 
The  Fens,  Boston,  170 
Tidal  marsh  in  Boston,  204 
Time  schedules  in  city  trans- 
portation, 290 
Tonnage,     proportion     of,     to 

water  frontage,  252-256 
Topographic    records,    impor- 
tance   of,    to   city   planning, 

355-357 
Traffic,  in  local  streets,  89,  94, 

96:  on  main  thoroughfares. 

302 :    on    water    front,    239, 

240.  249-252 
Traffic  inspection,  records  of, 


368,   371-375.   378,   380,   381 

Traffic  problems,  in  city,  8, 
290,  291,  292,  317,  368-370 

Transportation,  development 
of,  280-282,  315;  efficiency 
in,  317,  325,  326;  for  indus- 
trial products,  275,  339;  im- 
portance of  direct,  5,  6,  7, 
344 ;  municipal  regulation 
of,  67-69,  264-266,  284,  380, 
381 ;  relation  of  street  plan 
to,  5-9,  288,  290-292,  329; 
statistics  of,  2)7^-Z7Z^  380, 
381 

Tree  planting  on  water  sheds, 
197-199 

Tube  tunnels,  326 

Tuberculosis  in  city  life,  335 

Tuilleries,  Paris,  104 

Turning  basins  in  harbors,  235 

Vacation  places,  provision  of, 

153 

Viaduct  railways,  327 

Vienna,  acquisition  of  land  in, 
48 

Vital  statistics  in  city  plan- 
ning, 357,  358 

Wachusett    reservoir    dams, 

Boston,   189,   190 
Wachusett   reservoir  forestry, 

196,  197 
Warehouses,   on   water    front, 

251,  252;  statistics  of,  365 
Washington,     D.     C,     public 

buildings  in,  103 


INDEX 


447 


Water,  artificial  treatment  for 
city  use  of,  183,  188,  189; 
human  pollution  of,  203, 
204;  natural  value  and  dan- 
gers of,  201-203 

Water  front,  access  to,  238- 
240,  246,  247;  industrial  de- 
velopment on,  261,  266,  267, 
275;  protection  of,  205,  206; 
statistics  on,  378,  379 

Water-front  buildings,  loca- 
tion of,  220-224 

Water-front  commerce,  246, 
247-  251 

Water  -  front  improvements, 
216-220,  234 

Water-front  land,  243-245 

Water-front  moorings,  229- 
231 

Water-front  operations,  effi- 
ciency in,  252-256 

Water-front  traffic,  239,  240, 
249-252,  378 

Water-  front  transportation, 
240-242 

Water-level  variations,  231, 
232 

Water  mains.   187 

Water  meters.  182 

Water  rights  in  F,ngl.'ui(l.  22S 

Waterside  parks,  206,  213,  245, 
246 


Water  supply,  distribution  ot, 
183-187;  filtration  of,  194, 
quality  and  quantity  of,  182, 
183;  reading  list  on,  200; 
repairs,  185,  i86;  sources  of, 
182,  183;  statistics  on,  361; 
storage  of.  183,  184,  187,  188 

Water  waste,  prevention  of, 
182,  184,  185 

Waterway    construction,    233, 

235.  ^Z7 

Waterway  improvement,  data 
for,  378 

Waterways,  classification  of, 
228;  navigation  of,  231 

Water  works,  service  and 
beauty  in,  18 r,  184,  187.  188, 
190;  use  of  forestry  with, 
196-199 

Wet  basin  device  for  water 
level  variation,  232 

Wharf  construction  on  water- 
front. 247-250 

Wiklwood    Park,    Ilarrislnirg, 

151 
Wisconsin,    city    planning    in, 

413,  416 
"S'cllowstone  Park.  153 

Zone  condemnation,  65,  66 
Zone  system,  77-79.  81,  296 


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